‘The country has rebuked you’ Donald Trump Jr. confronted by student in Emory visit
In the early wake of a seismic defeat at the ballot box, Donald Trump Jr. got a loud reminder Wednesday of the midterm losses his father’s party suffered while departing the Emory University School of Law.
“The country has rebuked you!” law student Zahra Abdullah yelled at the president’s eldest son as he left the building, according to a video she provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We own the House and the Senate! The country has rebuked you!”
In response, Abdullah and her jeering classmates were given a middle finger by Omeed Malik, an Emory alum, a Trump business associate and namesake of the law school’s Omeed Malik Student Commons. Video of the encounter was first reported by TMZ.
The contentious exit followed a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Malik’s honor, which included a briefly contentious “fireside chat.”
Sitting at the front of a classroom, Malik took questions from law school Dean Richard D. Freer while Trump Jr. watched from the first row. At one point, according to Abdullah, Malik mentioned leaving his senior executive role at Bank of America in 2018 in part to pursue other career passions.
Abdullah said she interrupted the conversation because she felt Malik was misleading students about his departure. Malik filed a defamation claim against the bank following a complaint of inappropriate sexual conduct, according to published reports. Bank of America settled the case for an undisclosed multimillion-dollar sum, according to a Bloomberg report.
Law school students received an Oct. 29 email about Malik’s planned visit. It said Malik had served on two boards at the school, and his philanthropy at the school “made possible the recent refurbishing of the student commons, as well as student scholarships.”
Trump Jr.’s appearance, however, seems to have been a surprise. Abdullah said rumors about his presence started to spread around noon Wednesday as some noticed increased security at the law school.
“We thought it was a joke until he just walked into the room,” she said.
It is not clear if Emory knew Trump Jr. would be at the event. The university did not respond to request for comment.
Video shows Abdullah was escorted from the room after her disruption. A group of students followed her out.
After the group walked out, according to video, Malik said, “People who conduct themselves like that have no future.” He also defended Trump Jr.
“Don is my buddy. I’m proud of it,” Malik said. “So thank you for coming here.”
Malik is the co-founder and president of 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm. Trump Jr. joined the company as a partner days after his father won the 2024 presidential election.
The AJC reached out to 1789 Capital for comment from Malik or Trump Jr. but did not receive a response.
Students who spoke to the AJC said they did not have a problem with Malik or Trump Jr. being at the school.
Law student Milan Nayak said the school has the right to invite whomever it wants, regardless of political views. But he was bothered by what he called a lack of communication and transparency, particularly considering the timing.
“For someone as big as Donald Trump Jr. being at our school, especially a day right after the midterms, we were really upset,” Nayak said. “Especially at a stressful time in November when we have exams pending and Big Law (firm) interviews. It’s a lot.”
Similarly, student Hannah Hutchinson’s biggest qualm was not Trump Jr.’s presence, but the fact that students were not informed he would be attending. If a controversial figure will be on campus, she said, students should be given the opportunity to protest.
“I in no way want it to ever seem like I am aligned with (him), and to not even give the students the opportunity to express that, it’s a violation of our contract with the school,” she said.