‘No longer a Bellarmine employee’
Bellarmine University Professor John James is out of work after appearing to joke about the failed assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
“If you’re gonna shoot, man, don’t miss,” the English professor wrote on Instagram after last Saturday’s shooting that took off part of the president’s ear during a rally in Pennsylvania.
The Catholic university in Louisville announced soon after that James would be placed on “unpaid leave,” although the social media post did not name him.
“Words and actions that condone violence are unacceptable and contrary to our values, which call for respecting the intrinsic value and dignity of every individual,” the university previously stated.
“We strive to create an inclusive community that welcomes all and models a spirit of goodwill,” Bellarmine posted. “We are aware of an offensive and unacceptable social media post made by an employee over the weekend.”
“UPDATE: This individual is no longer a Bellarmine employee,” the university wrote on July 16.
UPDATE: This individual is no longer a Bellarmine employee. https://t.co/dYzsivbHrW
— Bellarmine University⚔️ (@bellarmineU) July 16, 2024
There was also reportedly a hoax bomb threat connected to the situation.
James explained his comments, saying he does not “condone violence.”
“I will say here, for the record, that I do not condone violence,” he told Louisville Public Media. “My point with this post was that, though it is a bad idea to assassinate a person, it is perhaps an even worse idea to fail in assassinating a person, because a failed assassination lends that figure power — it heroizes them.”
Meet John James. A professor at @bellarmineU. He’s very sad that the sh**ter missed.
.@bellarmineU any comment? pic.twitter.com/KOvMZsauwx
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 14, 2024
He is an alumnus of Bellarmine, but a profile about him has been scrubbed by the university.
Since the failed assassination attempt against Trump, academics have taken different stances. Some, like James, have appeared upset or joked about the former president surviving.
Others suggested it was “staged,” such as Carnegie Mellon Professor Uju Anya.
“They lie, and people die. That’s exactly what they do,” Anya wrote on Saturday, soon after the shooting.
MORE: Trump responsible for ‘violent rhetoric’ professor says
IMAGE: LibsofTikTok/X
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