A student group at Columbia University is facing immense backlash after posting “Marg bar Amrika,” a Persian phrase that directly translates to “Death to America,” in an X post following the U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran.
The Columbia University Apartheid Divest, or the CUAD, made the controversial X post on Saturday afternoon. However, the group later announced that the social media platform forced them to delete said post so they could regain access to their account, though they added that the “sentiment still stands.”
“Friendly reminder that CUAD has no affiliation to or ties with the fascist state functionary known as Columbia University,” the group wrote in another X post. “We operate completely outside of the purview of a registered student organization and are proud to not receive any recognition from that institution.”
Columbia University’s anti-Israel student group, CUAD—which organized the campus encampment—just tweeted “Death to America” in Persian. pic.twitter.com/5egmIPKhAP
— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) February 28, 2026
As of Sunday morning, Columbia University had not commented on the original X post. Because CUAD says it has no affiliation with the university, it is unclear whether the group or its leaders could face any type of discipline.
Although the initial post wasn’t up for long, CUAD almost immediately came under fire on social media. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wrote, “Any foreign student tweeting ‘death to America’ should be deported immediately,” in an X post that was rapidly approaching 1 million views in less than 12 hours.
“Every one of these Muslim terrorists needs to be expelled and deported,” Florida Rep. Randy Fine wrote. “And if Columbia refuses, they should lose all federal funding. Deport!”
Bill Ackman, the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management and a longtime supporter of Israel, called on United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio to have the students expelled. Additionally, Ackman said that any CUAD members attending Columbia on visas should be deported.
“In no world should they be permitted to attend a taxpayer-funded university with their tuition funded with government guaranteed student loans,” Ackman wrote.
.@SecRubio, these students should be expelled from @Columbia. And if they are here on visas, deported.
In no world should they be permitted to attend a taxpayer-funded university with their tuition funded with government guaranteed student loans. https://t.co/NmN7tbFKOd
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) March 1, 2026
CUAD wasn’t alone in offering harsh criticism for the American government on Saturday, with several prominent politicians expressing frustration and anger on social media. However, for as biting as their comments might have been, none openly expressed “death to America” in any form.
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib called the U.S. and Israeli governments’ actions “illegal” in multiple X posts, and even called Israel “genocidal” at one point. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the military strikes were an “illegal war of aggression” in an X post that had over 31 million views in less than 24 hours.
Tlaib’s comments stirred controversy on X, with Fine suggesting that the U.S. government deport the 49-year-old. However, Tlaib was born in the United States, and her citizenship is protected under the 14th Amendment. Trump previously made similar comments regarding Tlaib and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia but obtained U.S. citizenship in 2000, following their conduct during last week’s State of the Union address.
