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Bellarmine fires anti-Trump professor who said ‘if you’re gonna shoot…don’t miss’

‘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.

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.”

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

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About the Author
Associate Editor
Matt has previously worked at Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action and Turning Point USA. While in college, he wrote for The College Fix as well as his college newspaper, The Loyola Phoenix. He previously interned for government watchdog group Open the Books. He holds a B.A. from Loyola University-Chicago and an M.A. from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He lives in northwest Indiana with his family.