March 31, 2017
The Navy SEAL credited with killing Osama Bin Laden is among those who took offense when a Drexel University professor tweeted his disgust about an airline passenger giving up a first-class seat to an American military serviceman.
Rob O'Neill did not hold back when asked about comments made by professor George Ciccariello-Maher, who tweeted that he wanted to "vomit or yell" after witnessing fellow passengers thank the uniformed serviceman for his service.
O'Neill called Ciccariello-Maher "a blowhard" while speaking Friday on "Fox & Friends," a talk show that airs on FOX News.
"This is a guy that lives in a bubble," O'Neill said. "He deals with students all day, that regardless of what he says, they need his grade to get on with life. So he's a tough guy. I'm not sure what course he teaches — it might be 'How to grow facial hair without testosterone.'
"I'm not sure what this guy's doing. He's teaching like a poly sci course or whatever," O'Neill continued. "He's never been in the real world. He knows something that he learned in a classroom from a guy who learned it in the same classroom."
Ciccariello-Maher, an associate professor at the Philadelphia university, posted his tweet on Sunday, saying "Some guy gave up his first class seat for a uniformed soldier. People are thanking him. I'm trying not to vomit or yell about Mosul."
An American-led military coalition is trying to drive Islamic State out of Mosul, a northern Iraqi city. The United States is investigating military airstrikes that reportedly killed 200 civilians.
On Thursday, Ciccariello-Maher defended his tweet in an interview with FOX News' Tucker Carlson, saying he intended to call attention to the fighting in Mosul.
"I think U.S. troops need real support," Ciccariello-Maher told Carlson. "They don't need symbolic gestures. What they need is not a first class seat. What they need is health care support, psychological support. ... This is how we support the troops, not by sending them off into wars."
"I think it's really irresponsible to blindly support, for example, wars that send off young people into combat, risk their lives, (and) kill many others," Ciccariello-Maher said. "As we've just seen in Mosul — 200 people incinerated by U.S. bombs. And to not do that in a way that expands anyone's freedom."
Ciccariello-Maher previously made headlines in December, when he tweeted "All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide," a post he later said was intended to be satirical by mocking the "imaginary concept" of "white genocide."
O'Neill said the professor's latest tweet probably made "a lot of the people at Drexel University" want "to vomit." He doubted that Ciccariello-Maher would stop posting controversial comments to social media, adding that military personnel — like the serviceman on his plane — protect his right to open his mouth and "look like an idiot."
"He likes to get attention," O'Neill said. "He's got nothing else really going on. ... Saying you get experience from a college professor is like saying you're not hungry because you memorized the menu. We don't think much — we kind of laughed at this guy because he's really a joke."
Watch the entire interview O'Neill did with "Fox and Friends," as well as the professor's sitdown with Tucker Carlson below:
