Protesters disrupt event for GOP Nebraska senator hoping to become president of University of Florida

Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse’s visit to the University of Florida was met by protests from students.

Mr Sasse is the sole finalist to become the 13th president at the school after current President Kent Fuchs announced he was stepping down in January. Mr Sasse was reelected to the Senate in 2020 but plans to end his term four years prematurely if he is ultimately appointed by the UF Board of Trustees.

His views on same-sex marriage issues have sparked outrage among University of Florida students who have publicly told him he is not welcome at the university. In 2015, Ms Sasse said that the Supreme Court had overstepped its Constitutional rights by ruling in favour of same-sex marriage in Obergefell v Hodges, arguing that “marriage brings a wife and husband together so their children can have a mom and a dad.”

Footage circulating on social media showed hundreds of students at UF protesting Mr Sasse’s visit on Monday, and chanting: “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Ben Sasse has got to go!” The Washington Post reported. Another video shared by the UF Graduate Assistants United, showed Mr Sasse being escorted inside a police vehicle and leaving campus premises as a student says “we don’t want you here.”

“This is what a coward looks like. This will be your life every day if you accept a position here. @BenSasse,” the account tweeted.

UF’s independent student news outlet The Alligator reported that Mr Sasse left a Q and A early after at least 300 protestors on stage asked accused him of being racist and homophobic.

Mr Sasse said in that interview that he is looking forward to joining UF as a president because it “is the opportunity to step back from politics.” He was first elected to the Senate in 2014, and when his term came to an end in 2020, he was reelected.

After Mr Sasse announced plans to step down in order to potentially assume the role of president at UF, Donald Trump, who once endorsed Sasse, said the university would “regret” the decision.

“Great news for the United States Senate, and our Country itself. Liddle’ Ben Sasse, the lightweight Senator from the great State of Nebraska, will be resigning,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The University of Florida will soon regret their decision to hire him as their President.”

Sasse was one of seven Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the Capitol riot.

“President Trump lied that he ‘won the election by a landslide,’” Sasse said in a statement after his decision in 2021. “He lied about widespread voter fraud, spreading conspiracy theories despite losing 60 straight court challenges, many of his losses handed down by great judges he nominated.”

Mr Sasse is a Harvard and Yale graduate and was once the president of Midland University, a small institution in Nebraska.

The Independent has reached out to him for comment.