The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is standing by one of its prominent professors, climate alarmist Michael Mann, who shared a post calling Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk the “head of Trump’s Hitler youth” after his assassination.
Michael Mann, a UPenn professor and climate activist, took to social media after Kirk’s assassination to continue to spread the same hateful rhetoric that likely galvanized the Turning Point USA founder’s assassin last week, smearing Kirk as “the head of Trump’s Hitler youth.”
After facing heavy backlash, the UPenn professor deleted his post, claiming he “overlooked” the hateful smear.
“I reposted this earlier today,” Mann wrote. “I was simply agreeing w/ the (widespread) criticism of Ezra Klein’s claim that Kirk was ‘practicing politics the right way.’ I do NOT approve of the inappropriate & inflammatory language used to describe Kirk (which I’d overlooked). Have deleted.”
In additional posts, Mann, who earlier this year called for citizens to take up arms and form a militia against President Trump, downplayed Kirk’s horrific and gruesome assassination by bizarrely referring to it as “white on white violence” that has “gotten out of hand.”
The climate professor‘s repost also falsely claimed that Kirk had “direct involvement in Jan 6 planning and incitement.”
Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) also reacted to the UPenn professor’s posts by calling on the university to “take immediate, decisive action.”
“This is despicable behavior,” Sen. McCormick declared. “This dangerous rhetoric cannot and will not be tolerated. I unequivocally condemn this behavior and demand UPenn to take immediate, decisive action.”
In a stunning display of projection, Mann attacked the senator, telling the Daily Pennsylvanian, “It is very disappointing that Senator McCormick has mis-portrayed me in this way, let alone made such inflammatory demands.”
Mann — who also serves as the UPenn’s inaugural vice provost for climate science, policy, and action — admitted that he “should have been more circumspect about the reposts given the incendiary social media environment in the wake of this tragic event.”
“I was not criticizing Charlie Kirk. I was criticizing those who were lionizing him as a paragon of free speech and good faith discourse,” Mann insisted.
But whether Mann likes it or not, Kirk is, in fact, a martyr for free speech, as the Turning Point USA founder was murdered with a microphone in his hand while trying to have an open and respectful dialogue with a student at Utah Valley University.
Moreover, it is blatantly clear that Kirk was the target of a political assassination, as suspect Tyler Robinson left behind a message for his transgender roommate and partner, in which he admitted shooting Kirk, adding, “I had enough of his hatred.”
This comes after leftists spent years falsely labeling Kirk, like many in the conservative space, terms like “fascist” — among other pejoratives — fueling anger among left-wing radicals.
Mann is among a slew of examples of other educators across the country who also continued spreading violent and hateful rhetoric about Kirk, even after his assassination.
For millions of people around the world, this served as a major mask-off and watershed moment, in which the public has been able to see firsthand the shocking depravity and degradation of society.
Ironically, the examples from teachers celebrating Kirk’s murder have highlighted the very issue the Turning Point USA founder spent years exposing — the left-wing extremism that students are exposed to at all levels of the American education system.
UPenn did not immediately respond to Breitbart News’ inquiry as to whether the school stands by Mann, and whether the professor’s online rhetoric represents the values of the Ivy League school.
Other news outlets have also reported having contacted UPenn and failing to receive a response. It appears the university is standing by Mann and his hateful rhetoric.
Notably, Mann is one of UPenn’s most prominent and controversial faculty members. He is also the primary architect of global warming models — such as the discredited Hockey Stick chart — which has which sparked unneeded hysteria among people worldwide.
Moreover, unhinged social media posts are nothing new for Mann, who in July 2024 reposted a fake headline calling for then-President Joe Biden to “drone strike Donald Trump,” writing, “I agree” in the caption.
Like Kirk, President Trump was also the target of assassination after being smeared by leftists for years. Less than two weeks after Mann’s call to “drone strike” Trump, the 45th president was shot in the ear while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Mann isn’t some random lefty Twitter troll. He’s a part of the Democrat establishment,” GOP communications director Zach Parkinson said in an X post last week.
“He’s been repeatedly invited by Democrats to testify in front of Congress, was an advisor to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, and is regularly featured by Democrats at political events,” Parkinson added.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
