‘I Was Shocked By The Tone-Deafness’: Al Gore Rips University President Over Anti-Semitism Testimony

Former Vice President Al Gore called out the president of his alma mater college for the comments made about anti-Semitism during Congressional testimony.

Gore joined CNN anchor Jake Tapper for an interview on State of the Union Sunday where he criticized Harvard President Claudine Gay for testifying that calling for the genocide of Jews would not constitute harassment.

Gay has since apologized for her testimony while growing calls for her to resign mount after former University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill stepped down earlier this week.

Tapper: I also have to ask you, sir, because you are a Harvard alum. The presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT were before Congress this past week, and they were asked whether or not it — explicitly calling for the genocide of Jews on their campus would constitute harassment, and they seemed to struggle with that, although the presidents of Penn and Harvard issued clarifying statements. And I was wondering what your reaction to it, as somebody who has been a strong supporter of the Jewish community, a strong supporter of Israel, and also, as I noted, a proud Harvard alum.

Gore went on to note that he was “shocked by the tone-deafness” of their comments and called for more unity in American when it comes to respecting all communities.

GORE: Well, I was shocked by the tone-deafness of those comments. And I think they got bad legal advice in putting together what they were going to say. And they sure — they certainly do need to clarify that. And we need to respect one another in our country. And when statements of the kind that were — they were asked about come out, we need to stand against them and stand firm as Americans for respect for all of the communities that make up America.

Watch the full clip above via CNN.