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Liberal activist Michael Moore criticized New York City Mayor Eric Adams during his podcast on Monday for calling some protesters at colleges and universities “outside agitators.”
“There’s no such thing as an outside agitator because these schools live in the communities. They exist in the communities. They participate in the communities,” he said. “And especially the free universities or mostly free colleges, represent the city of New York, which is maybe a third White, but two-thirds not White. And you go to these schools, and you see that they’re set up to represent and to teach, educate a diverse group of young people and adults throughout the community.”
Adams, along with the New York Police Department, blamed “outside agitators” for the chaos and unrest at New York University and Columbia University.
Michael Moore attends the 6th Annual DOC NYC Visionaries Tribute at Gotham Hall on November 07, 2019 in New York City. (Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
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“We can’t have outside agitators come in and be destructive to our city,” Adams said during a press conference at the end of April. “Someone wanted something to happen at that protest at NYU.”
“People who peacefully protest for an issue, they’re not throwing bottles [and] chairs,” he continued. “And so we know that we have acknowledged and saw across the country there are people who come [who] have nothing to do with the issue, and they want to aggravate. Now, if those police officers didn’t show a high level of discipline, this could have been an ugly situation.”
Moore called Adams’ description of the demonstrators a “joke.”
“It’s just amazing to watch the mayor of New York, this guy, wow,” he said.
Moore, a frequent critic of President Biden and his stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, praised the protests and supported those who took over buildings on campus. Protesters took over Columbia’s Hamilton Hall, with demonstrators breaking windors and barricading themselves inside.
“You have to take over buildings. That is not violence,” Moore said. “I hope it continues. I applaud every student who has taken a stand at their campus, at graduation, whatever. This is the purpose of a democracy.”
Benches and trash bins block the entrance to Hamilton Hall where some student protesters camped on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
“If you haven’t started an encampment at your college, do it!” he said. “Take a stand. This is what’s so great about your generation. I mean, we handed you a sh—- world.”
Moore also continued his criticism of Biden during the podcast and said he doesn’t have a “clue in his head” of the damage he’s done by “arming” Israel.
“What are we going to do? I know, because we’re not going to let Trump back in the White House,” he said. “So we’re going to figure this out, but until then, we first have to have our voices heard. So exercise your right to free speech.”
A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)
Student demonstrations protesting the Israel-Hamas war and calling on their universities to divest funding linked to Israel have taken over college campuses over the last few weeks, prompting some schools to cancel graduation ceremonies, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.
