Harvard history professor Allison Johnson engaged in a heated debate with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo on Monday, defending her support for university president Claudine Gay. Johnson accused Cuomo of misunderstanding Gay’s December congressional testimony, claiming he “was getting everything wrong.”
The discussion on “Cuomo” revolved around faculty support for Gay amid calls for her resignation. Tensions rose as Johnson and Cuomo disagreed over their interpretations of Gay’s viral response to questions about calls for genocide against Jewish students and the university’s code of conduct.
Cuomo argued that Gay was prepped on the issue and faced relatively easy questions, prompting Johnson to challenge Cuomo’s understanding of Gay’s thoughts. The professor insisted that they couldn’t determine Gay’s intentions and criticized Cuomo for inaccuracies in his statements.
Cuomo clarified that a law firm had prepped Gay for her testimony. Johnson initially misunderstood, prompting Cuomo to reiterate that Gay should have been prepped by someone else. Cuomo contended that the question confused Gay, but Johnson maintained that the context of the inquiry and its placement within a five-hour hearing contributed to the confusion.
The clash comes amid a petition signed by over 700 Harvard professors urging the university’s governing boards to uphold academic freedom amid political pressures. Johnson, involved in organizing the petition, emphasized the importance of an independent university in fostering diverse viewpoints.
Following backlash from the congressional hearing, Gay publicly apologized to university students, expressing regret for her previous testimony and affirming that calls for violence against Jewish students have no place at Harvard.
