Boston College Republicans faced hostile and unfair attacks from other students in the days after the election, Massachusetts College Republicans Chairman James Markis said during an interview on 2WAY Tonight.
“What came next for myself, for members of our executive board, as well as general members of our club, were threats and statements regarding that ‘If you supported President Trump, you’re supporting rape, you’re supporting a rapist, we hope that your daughters get raped in the future, you don’t support healthcare, you support murdering illegal immigrants,’” said Markis, GMCAS ’25 and former president of BC Republicans. “Things along these lines. Every ‘ism’ in the book.”
Markis joined 2WAY Tonight—a nightly political talk show streaming on YouTube and X—on Wednesday to discuss the political climate on BC’s campus in the wake of the election and the op-ed the BC Republicans executive board penned urging students to practice civil discourse.
“All we decided to do was call for civil, political discourse,” Markis said. “There’s no need for ad hominem attacks and calling people rapists, sexist, homophobic, or whatever.”
Trump’s swift, decisive victory left many students feeling stunned and upset. Some took to Herrd and Instagram to express their disappointment with the outcome.
“BC tends not to be a super political campus—compared to so many Ivies and other campuses—and then the wave of backlash to President Trump’s victory on Tuesday night was stunning,” Markis said.
In total, over 75 million Americans cast their ballots for Trump last week, the vast majority of which are not bigots, Markis said—a fact that most Herrd and Instagram posts seemed to ignore, he added.
“There’s not 75 million Nazis in America, there’s not 75 million rapists in America,” Markis said.
Markis emphasized that many BC Republicans support Trump primarily for his policies, not because they agree with everything he says and does.
“A lot of people support him for the economy,” Markis said. “There’s a wide-open border, violent crime is up—there’s a lot of reasons why people would support President Trump.”
As an example, Markis pointed out that he doesn’t label supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris as “murderers,” referencing Harris’s stance on abortion.
“Just as I wouldn’t call Kamala Harris supporters murderers for supporting abortion—which is through birth—or for what’s going on in Palestine or in Ukraine a murderer for the people who are dying there, I think there is a difference between what the candidate says and what the people are saying on the ground,” Markis said.
Harris repeatedly pushed back on claims that she supported abortion up until birth during her campaign.
While Markis said the majority of backlash BC Republicans faced was online, there have been moments of vocal hostility and physical aggression toward members of the group on campus as well, he alleged.
When asked what steps the University has taken in response, Markis said administrators reached out to him expressing regret over the incidents and offered to schedule a meeting.
Markis said that University administrators apply a double standard in their treatment of Republicans.
“If this was the reverse situation, and Trump supporters were shouting down liberals—which you rarely, never see on college campuses—we know that it would be swiftly responded to by the administration,” Markis said.
Because of his role, Markis said many students know where he stands on political issues. Still, he said he generally avoids talking about politics and that he did not publicly celebrate or taunt other students after the election.
“I tend to keep it pretty lowkey, though, if we’re being honest,” Markis said. “I don’t go out of my way to put in people’s faces that I won or support President Trump.”
The hosts of the show agreed with Markis on the need for more mutual understanding and civil discourse in American politics, though each noted that Trump’s rhetoric and frequent attacks on his opponents have played a major role in fueling polarization.
“Donald Trump—who claims he’s just a counter-puncher—has frequently been the instigator of rhetoric that has amped it up,” said Mark Halperin, editor-in-chief of 2WAY and host of 2WAY Tonight. “It’s just historical fact, and to say that it’s all the fault of the left is objectively not true.”
Through it all, Markis said BC Republicans remain steadfast in their support for Trump.
“We can take whatever people throw at us,” Markis said. “We don’t care. We’re confident in our beliefs. We’re confident in our values. We will never waver in supporting President Trump and the policy that he supports against President Biden and Vice President Harris.”
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