During a CNN discussion on Tuesday, Pamela Brown and Wolf Blitzer questioned a former Columbia University protester, who had been detained by ICE in early March and later released by a federal judge, about his stance on a terrorist group. This followed allegations by President Donald Trump’s administration labeling him as a sympathizer of terrorists.
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Mahmoud Khalil Repeatedly Refuses to Condemn Hamas on CNNhttps://t.co/Bq7hd3pnPZ
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) July 22, 2025
Brown inquired, “For clarity’s sake, do you explicitly denounce Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization in the United States, beyond their actions on October 7?”
“I condemn the killing of all Pal-, of all civilians, full stop,” Khalil replied. “And, but what I don’t want to get into is-“
The anchor interjected and tried once again to help Khalil out and asked him, “But do you condemn Hamas, specifically?”
Khalil responded firmly, “I am very consistent in condemning harm to all civilians. My stance is clear on that. However, it is misleading to focus on condemning Hamas when Palestinians are currently suffering due to Israeli actions. It’s also important to acknowledge that before October 7, on October 6, 260 Palestinians were killed by Israel.”
“So I hate this selective outrage of condemnation because this is not, this wouldn’t lead to a constructive conversation,” he added. “And this is also, like what we want to deal with is the root causes of why that happened. And it’s no way anyone can justify the killing of civilians.”
Third time’s the charm! Brown hits him once more:
And to no one’s surprise, he ignored the question and deflected, stating that he “simply asked and protested the war in Palestine … That’s why I wouldn’t really engage much into such questions on condemnation or not. Because selective condemnations is not, wouldn’t get us anywhere. It’s just like a hypocrite, to be honest.”
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The DHS responded to the clip and said Khalil has not been “painted” as a Hamas sympathizer; he is one, and not condemning the terrorist group is just more proof.
Mahmoud Khalil refuses to condemn Hamas because he IS a terrorist sympathizer not because DHS ‘painted’ him as one. He ‘branded’ himself as antisemite through his own hateful behavior and rhetoric.
It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the… pic.twitter.com/nC2WCR6Dul
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 22, 2025
“Mahmoud Khalil refuses to condemn Hamas because he IS a terrorist sympathizer not because DHS ‘painted’ him as one,” the Department wrote on X. “He ‘branded’ himself as an antisemite through his own hateful behavior and rhetoric.”
“It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America,” the post added. “The Trump Administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority to detain Khalil, as it does with any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews, and damages property.”
Gotta love when CNN accidentally stumbles on the fact that Trump was right again.
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