Pro-Choice Conservative Tomi Lahren to Speak at Liberty University Convocation
Liberty University has announced that pro-choice conservative Tomi Lahren will be among the list of notable people giving a convocation speech next month at the prominent evangelical school.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Monday, Liberty announced that the popular Fox News pundit will be speaking to students on Dec. 4.
Other announced speakers for December include former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and former Trump Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
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"[Lahren] is one of the youngest political commentators on television and is best known for her 'Final Thoughts' segment, where she weighs in on current issues and events. Lahren's segments have been viewed more than 580 million times on Facebook," Liberty said Monday.
In March, Lahren garnered controversy when she told the hosts of "The View" that she believed it was hypocritical to support limited government yet oppose abortion.
"I'm someone that is for limited government, so I can't sit here and be a hypocrite and say I'm for limited government, but I think that the government should decide what women do with their bodies," Lahren asserted, adding, "stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well."
The remarks led to The Blaze, a conservative online publication run by Glenn Beck, to suspend Lahren.
Beck swiftly denounced Lahren's comments.
"The founders were really, really clear. The preamble of the Constitution clearly states to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Well, who are our posterity, if not our unborn children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren," Beck said.
"Our descendants and future generation, that's who the Constitution is securing the blessings of liberty for. Not just us."
In response to the suspension, Lahren sued The Blaze, with the two parties reaching a settlement in May whose details were not disclosed.
The announced convocation schedule has garnered some negative feedback, with one Washington Examiner columnist asking the University to uninvited Lahren.
"There's nothing wrong with differing opinions, of course. Colleges shouldn't indoctrinate ideology (religious, political, or otherwise)," reads the column by Philip Wegmann.
"But what's painfully ironic about Lahren's invitation to a Christian university like Liberty, is that she actively champions the opposite of their beliefs."
Liberty has invited a wide range of speakers for their convocation events, including former Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in 2015.
