Milo and POTUS: Trump Threatened to De-Fund UC Berkeley for Yiannopoulos, But He’s Silent Now

President is silent after Breitbart editor’s pedophilia comments come to light

trump milo

Earlier this month, when UC Berkeley canceled a planned speech by Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, President Donald Trump quickly responded by threatening to cut Berkeley’s federal funds.

But on Monday, after Yiannopoulos’ comments about pedophilia cost him a book deal with Simon & Schuster and a high-profile speaking gig at this week’s Conservative Poliitcal Action Conference, Trump had nothing to say.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/827112633224544256

Many of the president’s critics took note of his silence on the Milo matter, suggesting that Trump appeared to be more offended by UC Berkeley’s actions than he was by Yiannopoulos’ statements. Berkeley said at the time if canceled the speech that it was concerned about safety because of the angry protests the planned speech had sparked.

Trump has had friendly ties with Breitbart, the conservative site that, at least as of this writing, still employs Yiannopoulos. His lead strategist, Steve Bannon, formerly led the site. In interviews, Yiannopoulos has jokingly referred to Trump as “Daddy.”

A Trump spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Yiannopoulos has said his thoughts on relationships between young boys and adult men were inelegantly expressed and taken out of context. In recorded interviews, he had said that it is possible for a 13-year-old to be the “predator” in a relationship with an adult. He also joked that being molested by a priest had made him better at oral sex.

Here are some responses to Trump’s non-response:

https://twitter.com/simonowens/status/833732421430415362

https://twitter.com/holman_kim/status/833840860571848709

Tim Molloy

Executive editor • @timamolloy

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