Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said she has no sympathy for the wealthy parents charged in the recent college admissions scandal.
Warren made the statement Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Host Mika Brzezinski asked, “How much sympathy would you have for these parents who are embroiled in this alleged cheating scandal?”
Warren, who as a 2020 candidate has introduced a wealth tax plan, responded with one word: “Zero.”
Conservatives seized on the comment, saying it was “ironic” that it came from a person who in the past claimed to be of Native American descent, which critics have argued she used to advance her career as a professor.
For instance, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel tweeted: “Elizabeth Warren just said she had ‘zero’ sympathy for the parents involved in the college admissions cheating scandal. It’s ironic that she’s so offended given that she lied about being a minority to climb the Ivy League ladder.”
[Opinion: College scandal’s big lesson: College educations are worthless]
Elizabeth Warren just said she had “zero” sympathy for the parents involved in the college admissions cheating scandal.
It’s ironic that she’s so offended given that she lied about being a minority to climb the Ivy League ladder.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) March 13, 2019
The scandal, which the Justice Department says is the largest admissions cheating scandal it has ever prosecuted, brought charges against 50 people in six states. Among those booked include “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, known for her role in “Desperate Housewives.”
The $25 million scandal alleges that wealthy parents managed to gain their children entrance to prestigious colleges by bribing college admissions officials, standardized test providers, and sports coaches.
The complaint alleges Loughlin and her husband paid $500,000 to get their daughters into the University of Central Los Angeles. Prosecutors say the couple directed the bribes to university officials to flag the daughters as recruits to the school’s rowing team. In reality, neither of the daughters rowed.
In another instance, the DOJ alleges that former first lady Michelle Obama’s tennis instructor, Gordon Ernst, accepted upwards of $2.7 million in bribes from the Key Worldwide Foundation, a nonprofit organization, between 2012 and 2018. Ernst, who also instructed Obama’s daughters, Malia and Sasha, allegedly secured a spot for at least a dozen students on Georgetown University’s tennis team. Some of those students didn’t play tennis competitively.
The founder of Key Worldwide Foundation, William Rick Singer, is believed to be the architect of the massive scheme. He was slapped with four criminal charges for his alleged involvement. In addition to facilitating bribes to place students on sports teams, Singer is believed to be involved in gaming standardized tests to get students good scores.
A number of high-profile business executives were also netted in the sweep. The DOJ believes that most of the children were not aware of the alleged scheme.
In addition to UCLA and Georgetown, Yale University, Stanford University, and Wake Forest University accepted children of parents charged Tuesday.
