Full transcript of the interview is available at https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5326015 and archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20250313171934/https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5326015
Key excerpt,
MARTIN: So what - how did he support Hamas? Exactly what did he do?
EDGAR: Well, I think you can see it on TV, right? It’s - this is somebody that, you know, we’ve invited and allowed the student to come into the country, and he put himself in the middle of the process of basically pro-Palestinian activity. And at this point, like I said, the Secretary of State can review his visa process at any point and revoke it…
MARTIN: Forgive me - he’s a…
EDGAR: …And that’s what we’ve done.
MARTIN: …Permanent resident. He’s not a visa holder. He’s a legal permanent resident. He has the green card, at least he did until it’s alleged that it was revoked. So, look, if the allegation is that Mr. Khalil organized protests and made speeches, after which other people engaged in prohibited activity or say, violent activity, well, Mr. Trump gave a political speech on January 6, 2021, after which some individuals engaged in violent and illegal acts. How is this any different?
EDGAR: Yeah. Well, like I said, I mean, President Trump’s a citizen and president of the United States. This is a person that came in under a visa. And again, the Secretary of State, at any point, can take a look and evaluate that visa and decide if they want to revoke it and…
MARTIN: He’s a legal permanent resident. I have to keep insisting on that. He is a legal permanent resident. So what is the standard? Is any criticism of the Israeli government a deportable offense?
EDGAR: Like I said, I think that at this point, when he was - entered into the country on a student visa, at any point, we can go through and evaluate what his status is and the Secretary of State is basically…
MARTIN: Is any criticism of the United States government a deportable offense?
EDGAR: Like I said, you know, if you go through the process and you’re a student and you’re here on a visa and you go through at any point, you…
MARTIN: Is any criticism of the government a deportable offense?
EDGAR: Like I said, you know, as a student, he comes to the United States on a student visa, applies - let me put it this way, Michel - imagine if he came in and filled out the form and said I want a student visa. They ask him, what are you going to do here? I he said I’m going…
MARTIN: He was a student.
EDGAR: …To go and protest. And…
MARTIN: So is protest…
EDGAR: …Join an antisemitic activity…
MARTIN: …A deportable event?
EDGAR: …We would never have let him in the country.
MARTIN: Is protesting a deportable offense?
EDGAR: Like I said, you’re focused on protesting. I’m focused on it’s a visa process. He went through a legal process, came into the country…
MARTIN: Are you saying that he lied on his application? He’s a lawful…
EDGAR: Well, I think…
MARTIN: …Permanent resident, married to an American citizen.
EDGAR: Well, I think if he would have declared he’s a terrorist, we would have never let him in.
MARTIN: And what did he engage in that constitutes terrorist activity?
EDGAR: I mean, Michel, have you watched it on TV? It’s pretty clear.
MARTIN: No, it isn’t.
Dude… Did COVID just break everyone’s brains? What the fuck is happening. Just reading the transcript was infuriating enough. He kept saying visa, despite being corrected several times. What a piece of shit.
you’ve never had the poor judgement to talk to a cop have you? they have all always been like this. if you read old 40s german nazis, they sound like this too.
I know you’re joking, but there was a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that people that had mild covid suffered a 3 IQ point loss. And that is additive with each bout of covid.
The IQ loss for a severe case of covid was 9 points. I believe this was measured at least a year after infection, though I could be misremembering that part.
Stating this in a relevant thread like I’m doing here and linking to the actual study got me banned from a sub reddit.
But this guy just sounds like a propagandist.
Yeah, no need to attribute to COVID what we can attribute to the art of lying until it’s true
I know for certain that COVID made me stupider.
Honestly, that the other person didn’t ease up on the point was refreshing. Vague/double talking/lying politicians isn’t new, but I feel like I only ever see journalists meekly accept whatever dribble they’re given.
Actually…sort of.
You could argue that COVID pushed more people to social media, which meant that they were interacting with people based on algorithms and not due to interests.
But let’s be clear here: the leaders we have are pieces of shit. They’ve always been pieces of shit.
COVID just gave them a platform.