MOORHEAD - Rick Santorum said he doesn't always get the warm reception he received at Concordia College on Tuesday, April 10, when visiting campuses across the country.
He said he expected a different response from students later in the week when he plans to lecture at UC Berkeley. But on Tuesday in Moorhead, the majority of the 500 students and community members welcomed the CNN political commentator on campus to share his pro-life morals and conservative talking points - though without his signature V-neck sweater.
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Santorum, a former Republican senator from Pennsylvania, last visited Fargo-Moorhead in 2011 when he was vying for the GOP endorsement in the 2012 presidential election.
Recently making headlines for suggesting that kids should take CPR classes instead of calling for gun laws, Santorum was asked how he would compromise with his A+ rating from the NRA.
"I have seven kids. I care that we have safe schools," he said. But he challenged the inquiring student what objective evidence supports their position of gun reform.
On the topic of safe spaces, Santorum said that prior to 1955, "teenager" was not in the lexicon. He said to the students there should be enough respect to "demand adulthood," adding that "Christians don't need safe spaces."
He predicted this summer that Justice Anthony Kennedy would step down, thereby allowing President Donald Trump to select a "solid conservative" as a replacement. Following this shift, Santorum said that Roe v. Wade would be appealed. In all likelihood, he said there would be "very different laws" across the Red River in North Dakota than in Minnesota.
Santorum also spoke to marriage being destroyed and changes brought on by technology that is further dividing the country and commented on a lack of leadership in Washington, D.C.
The evening's hosting organization, Young Americans for Freedom, would not disclose how much funding was allocated for Santorum's visit. He's second choice to YAF's original guest and conservative columnist Ben Shapiro. Funding of more than $6,000 was rescinded after backlash on campus from those who didn't want Shapiro on campus.
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Amy Kelly, media relations for Concordia, would not confirm how much funding went toward Santorum's lecture.
