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'Is it culinary class?' Hillary Clinton mocked for teaching foreign policy course at Columbia University

Hillary Clinton was dubbed a 'warmonger' after she dropped a video promoting the foreign policy course at Columbia University

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Critics attacked Columbia University, made fun of Hillary Clinton's excitement, and dubbed her a 'warmonger' after her video about starting a new job at the school, went viral. In the video promoting the foreign policy course, students and Clinton's co-teacher, Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo, cheer the 2016 Democratic presidential contender for 'running again.'

Clinton shared a clip of a skit where she joked that many Americans were happy she is 'running again.' In the filmed act, Clinton responds, "Well I sure am, Keren, I just got here early for the class we're teaching together on foreign policy decision-making." "Classes don’t start until September," Yarhi-Milo, dean of Columbia University responded. "Yeah, but I wanted to be prepared, Keren," Clinton stated. "You know, when it comes to crisis situations you’ve always got to be prepared." "Prepared? Yarhi-Milo responds, "I think you're more prepared than anyone to teach this course," as they pretend to name the course and determine how it will be taught in a staged talk. Then Clinton says, "If you'll excuse me, Keren, I have to run," and she walks away.

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Who is Keren Yarhi-Milo?

Keren Yarhi-Milo is the dean of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and the Adlai E Stevenson Professor of International Relations. Dean Yarhi-Milo, a specialist in international security, crisis decision-making, and political psychology, is also an award-winning scholar with a long history of leadership and service at SIPA and Columbia, where she is a professor of political science and public and international affairs, as per Columbia Political Science website.

After a decade at Princeton, Yarhi-Milo joined the Columbia school in 2019. Yarhi-Milo was the director of SIPA's Arnold A Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies for two years before becoming dean in July 2022. In 2003, she received her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and her BA, summa cum laude, from Columbia University. She previously worked with several NGOs supporting peace in the Middle East, including the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.

What is the 'Inside the Situation Room' course?

Columbia University introduced the new class on Wednesday, March 22. "In an era increasingly defined by geopolitical competition, it is more important than ever for future policymakers to understand why and how foreign policy decisions are made," the press release read. It continued by stating that Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Clinton will jointly teach the Inside the Situation Room course. The course will have students "examine decision-making in a variety of historical and contemporary contexts, from the search for Osama bin Laden, to the 'red line' in Syria, to negotiating with Iran." 

'Is this course subtitled: What Not To Do?'

The footage caused a stir on Twitter. Glenn Greenwald, an independent writer, criticized Clinton for having called for "more wars than anyone" over the previous three decades. She wrote, "The US official who has urged more wars than anyone over the last 3 decades with the possible exception of John Bolton – including Iraq, Libya, Syria, and now Ukraine – is teaching Columbia students a class called "Foreign-Policy Decision-Making." And boy they’re excited!" Conservative influencer Gina Bella reacted to the video by blasting Clinton as a "dirty warmonger." One user asked, "Oh, Hillary Clinton is teaching at Columbia? Is it a culinary class?"

Others also mercilessly mocked Clinton's foreign policy course. A user wrote, "...or Introduction to Revisionist History ..." Another user claimed, "Is there going to be mock child sacrifices apart of this course?" Another person noted, "Is this course subtitled: “What Not To Do." One user commented, "Excited for "How to Turn Libya Into One Big Slave Market" this fall." One user warned, "Oh boy this is terrifying no that anyone thinks this is a good idea. My god!!!"

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