A Northeastern University professor is under fire for suggesting he wanted President Donald Trump to die during a campus lecture last month that was posted online.
The university pulled the video from the internet this week after condemning the remarks.
Barry Bluestone, a professor in public policy, said he is sorry for the comments, but does not believe the video should have been removed because criticism of the president should be heard.
"I said while I'd like to see him impeached, and sometimes, in my heart, you know, I'd like him dead," he said.
Bluestone has apologized for those remarks, but not the message he intended to convey to students.
"I don't advocate any form of violence against anybody, including this president," he said. "What I meant to say is we need to remove this guy from office by legitimate means, either by impeachment or by vote."
The university, taking issue with Bluestone's choice of words, which were originally reported by The Boston Globe, said the professor's comments don't reflect Northeastern's views.
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
"While faculty members are free to express controversial opinions, the university cannot provide a public platform for comments that could be construed to condone violence," Northeastern said in a statement.
It's a sentiment echoed by Nathan Kotler, the president of the campus' College Republicans.
"An apology would be nice, not just to me, but the people who were at the lecture who didn't really gain anything from hearing those remarks," Kotler said.
Bluestone said that while he regrets the comments, he doesn't think it should overshadow his message.
"I don't think we would have had this reaction if we didn't have a president who in fact has kind of engendered that kind of reaction," he said.
No disciplinary action has been taken against Bluestone, and he said the university's administration has not spoken to him about it.
