One of Stanford University’s most vocal conservative leaders, who is determined to “Make Stanford Great Again,” is the son of controversial Obama administration official Susan Rice.
John David Rice-Cameron, 20, told Fox News on Wednesday that the Tea Party movement inspired him to move away from his parents’ politics and become a conservative.
Rice was one of the Obama administration’s most unpopular officials among conservatives and Republicans because of her attempt, as U.N. ambassador, to blame the 2012 terrorist attack on two American facilities in Benghazi, Libya on an offensive YouTube video.
Though they are polar opposites politically, the son who avidly supports President Trump and the mother who is a diehard liberal enjoy a solid relationship.
“My mother and I have a great relationship, and my mother believes strongly in the free and respectful exchange of ideas,” Rice-Cameron told Fox News. “We disagree on most of the standard Republican/Democrat disagreements. However, we agree that America is the greatest nation the world has ever seen, and thus, we believe that America has an important role to play as a force for liberty and justice on the world stage.”
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He says the two both support free trade, robust American engagement in Africa, and believe that Russia poses a major threat to American interests.
Rice-Cameron's father is Ian Cameron, a former long time producer and executive at reliably liberal ABC News. Both Cameron and Rice went to Stanford, as well.
Rice-Cameron, who is a sophomore, is president of the College Republicans on campus and the activism director for the California College Republicans. Like his mother, who is a Stanford alumnus, he does not shy away from controversy.
Rice-Cameron hosted controversial expert on radical Islam Robert Spencer, pushed for a professor with ties to Antifa to resign, pressured the school to reverse its decision on banning American flags on their club t-shirts, and Tuesday the group hosted Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens for a “Make Stanford Great Again!” event.
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Rice-Cameron said his parents, both Democrats, encouraged debate and discussion, which unwittingly put him on the path to conservatism by listening to Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin, host of “Life, Liberty & Levin” on Fox News Channel.
“I salute John David Rice-Cameron; a young man committed to liberty,” Levin wrote on social media, sharing a story from The College Fix.
Rice-Cameron responded with thanks and added he will call into the show soon.
“You have been the single greatest political inspiration for me,” he wrote. “Thank you very much. I will try to call into the radio show sometime soon.”
Listening to Levin talk about the intellectual underpinnings of conservatism and the principles of individual liberty and natural rights, prompted him to be active and outspoken, he said.
“This worldview and these principles compel me to promote conservative ideas at Stanford, and beyond,” he said. “I’m driven by a fundamental sense of urgency over the fact that Americans are slowly losing their liberty, and I believe that liberty is being valued less and less. I want to turn the tide, and college campuses are crucial to doing so.”