Coulter vs. Kaus: The Non-debate on Immigration

Coulter: Trump is a “Shallow, lazy ignoramus”

Tuesday night, Columbia University College Republicans hosted political pundits Mickey Kaus and Ann Coulter in a forum they called "Impolite Debates” moderated by Rob Long. Kaus, a former Democratic US Senatorial Candidate and blogger, and Coulter, a conservative author and columnist, were set to speak on the state of Donald Trump’s presidency as well as the consequences that his tenure in office has reaped throughout the United States. These two have been friends on the opposite side of political lines for years and had a similar debate at CPAC in 2014.

However, there wasn’t much debate. First, Coulter was able to clarify a few things about her loyalty to Donald Trump, claiming that those who supported Trump knew that he is "a shallow, lazy, ignoramus" but voted for him for the ideas he conveyed. The emphasis of the debate was placed on on immigration and the problems that can arise from its illegal form. It was unclear what Kaus was trying to argue.He was constantly flipping between different visual aids that he brought, while simultaneously making an argument that immigration is good and bad at the same time. Meanwhile, Coulter, argued that immigration was the main source of income inequality in the US, as low wage workers could "price out” under-educated Americans from the job market.

Both believed that low skill workers in the United States suffer from an influx of illegal immigrants who can do their jobs for lower wages. Coulter stated that this was not a purely Republican position. She notes that Bernie Sanders first campaigned on this idea before pressure from the Democratic party forced him to drop it.

Where the two seamed to differ was what policy the US should be taking in the case of immigration. Coulter argues that the US “needs a moratorium on immigration”, where Kaus believes that the US should accept more immigrants and refugees.

There was a small protest amassed outside of Lerner. In between chants calling for Columbia students to demand that Coulter not be given a platform, the protesters also threatened that nuclear war was on the horizon and that the US military was full of "War Criminals". There were several other interruptions from a few individuals, which were met by scorn from Coulter. Finally, one student was asked to leave and escorted out.

You may view a recording of the event below:

Posted by Columbia University College Republicans on Tuesday, March 27, 2018

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