College reverses decision to invite CNN’s Michael Smerconish due to controversial 2004 book

CNN host Michael Smerconish revealed on Monday that Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, withdrew his invitation to deliver the commencement address at this year’s graduation ceremony due to comments he made in a 2004 book.

In an article posted on his website on Monday, Smerconish mentioned that the school revoked its invitation for him to speak at the ceremony and receive an honorary degree after receiving complaints from students and faculty members about his remarks in his book titled “Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post-9/11.”

As per Fox 43, the controversy began when a student wrote an opinion piece in the college’s student-run newspaper, the Dickinsonian, criticizing the decision to invite Smerconish as the commencement speaker.

Smerconish responded on his SiriusXM radio show, and the editorial board issued an open letter stating that “the Class of 2024 deserves a better commencement speaker than Smerconish due to his support for racial profiling of Arab Americans and Muslims in his 2004 book ‘Flying Blind,’ a viewpoint he has maintained.”

“In recent days, some Dickinson faculty and students raised concerns about a book I wrote in 2004,” Smerconish wrote on Monday. “They felt uneasy after reading selective excerpts from my post-9/11 book through a 2024 perspective. Signs at a student encampment this week demanded my cancellation along with divestment in Israel.”

He further remarked, “Those within the college community who pushed for the cancellation of my speech are likely rejoicing now that their censorship-driven campaign was successful. However, I believe that many who stayed silent and gave in to the demands of the mob are at least somewhat embarrassed by their actions.”