Donald Trump Jr. called on the University of Florida’s board of governors to reject former University of Michigan president Santa Ono as UF’s president following the school’s board of trustees unanimous vote to hire Ono.
“WTF! Have the decision makers at @UF lost their minds!???” Trump Jr. exclaimed in a post on X on Wednesday. “This woke psycho might be a perfect fit for a Communist school in California, but how is he even being considered for this role in Florida?
“Every single member of the Florida Board of Governors should vote against him!!!” he added.
The post is the latest example of conservatives pushing back Ono stepping into the university’s top leadership role, citing his past stances on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which has become a target of the Trump administration.
Ono wrote in a recent op-ed that his views on the issue have evolved.
“Like many, I supported what I believed to be the original intent of DEI — ensuring equal opportunity and fairness for every student,” Ono wrote in an op-ed in Inside Higher Ed earlier this month. “That’s something on which most everyone agrees. But over time, I saw how DEI became something else—more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success.”
On Tuesday, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) called the university’s board of trustees move to approve Ono “a grave mistake,” urging the board of governors to reject Ono.
“Today, Dr. Ono gave it his best “college try” walking back his woke past, claiming he’s now “evolved.” But I’m not sold,” Steube said in a post on X.
This role is too important to gamble on convenient conversions. As the flagship university of a state that has led the way on truth and freedom, UF should be LEADING the fight against woke ideology, not coming around only when it’s politically convenient.”
Florida gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and the state’s former governor Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have also spoken out against Ono leading UF.
However, the state’s Gov. Ron DeSantis (R ) has largely avoided stepping into the controversy surrounding Ono, saying earlier this month that he trusts the university’s decision makers.
“I trust the people that were involved in that process. They were trustees that I’ve appointed, that have performed exemplary for the state of Florida in those capacities,” DeSantis said.
The Chair of UF’s board of trustees Mori Hosseini, who is a DeSantis ally, has backed Ono as the pick to lead the university.
“Santa Ono is precisely the right person to be president of the University of Florida at this moment in its history,” Hosseini said in a statement following the board’s vote on Tuesday.
“He is a remarkably accomplished scholar and a solidly proven academic leader, and his values align perfectly with ours here in the great state of Florida. Dr. Ono will ensure that merit and scholarship, not ideology, are the gold standards for success, and he will see to it that the University of Florida continues its ascent toward becoming America’s premier public university, bar none.”
