A graduate of the class of 2021 looks on at the U.S. Military Academy’s Class of 2021 graduation ceremony at Michie Stadium West Point, New York on May 22, 2021. (Photo credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
A former West Point cadet — Hannah MacDonald — blasted the school, saying she was expected not “to lay down [her] life for [her] brothers and sisters, but for a political agenda” on the Thursday episode of “Hannity.”
MacDonald and two other former cadets — Nickaylah Sampson and Willow Brown — discussed why they left the military academy earlier in 2021 after vaccine mandates and what they characterized as political indoctrination.
MacDonald said:
“I wasn’t just resisting an injection, but I was resisting a kingdom that glorifies ignorant submission and unethical behavior and unlawful orders and frankly, I was just very upset with the trajectory of our government right now and realizing they didn’t want me to lay down my life for my brothers and sisters, but for a political agenda.”
MRC TV video player
Below is a transcript of Hannity:
Sean Hannity: “Unvaccinated cadets were told or instructed in a meeting to either get vaccinated, file for an exemption, or separate from the Academy. According to multiple cadets in the room, they were denied access to legal counsel despite previous assurances. Is all of this being driven by science? Is there a larger political agenda at play?
“We did reach out to West Point for comment; they have not provided us with a response. Here with reaction, the three former West Point cadets who left the Academy amid all of this:
“Former cadets Hannah MacDonald and Nickaylah Sampson, who both out-processed from West Point last month, along with Willow Brown, who left the Academy last spring. Willow, you left first, let’s start with you. Tell us your story.”
Willow Brown: “Yes, so I went to the Academy hoping to serve my country and bring the fight to the enemy. I found myself instead in the classroom, learning about how to be more sensitive and this woke ideology that had taken over West Point really surprised me.
“So as this vaccine came out, I hesitated and no questions were answered. I figured I was not learning how to better serve my country; I was instead learning about white rage and I knew I had to leave.
“The country is becoming less safe, our students were not learning about the Chinese, they were learning about how to be more sensitive, and I thought it was ridiculous.”
Hannity: “Hannah and Nickaylah, can I ask you both, do you agree with that assessment? Is that accurate? Nickaylah?”
Nickaylah Sampson: “Yes sir, this did happen. I don’t remember being there in-person because I didn’t go to these briefs, but I remember talks about these briefs that were happening about white rage and about extremism and I just — I thought it was ridiculous; it really had nothing to do with bettering yourself as an army officer.”
Hannity: “Yeah, and let me ask you, Hannah, was that the same experience you had?”
Hannah McDonald: “Yes sir. So I had the privilege of tutoring [incomprehensible] this semester in English, and I found that a lot of them were writing papers on critical race theory and socialism and I asked why they were writing these things and they said they didn’t agree with it but they thought their professors would enjoy it because that was in line with the books they were reading.”
Hannity: “Let me ask you all, and I guess Hannah, I’ll start with you. Every single person that I’ve known in my life that ever went to any of the academies, West Point in particular, they all dreamed of this since the time they were little. It was their lifelong dream. Was that the case with all three of you? I guess we’ll ask Hannah first, then Nickaylah, and Willow.”
MacDonald: “Yes, sir. So, I joined very late in the game; I wasn’t aware that the service academies were an option for quite some time. However, growing up in a Christian household and understanding that there’s no greater love than to lay down your life for someone else, I was very eager to align those values of service and love with the Army and I was just very disappointed coming to West Point and realizing that’s not what the Army stood for anymore.”
Hannity: “Nickaylah, I mean, everybody I know that’s ever become a cop or a nurse or a doctor or a teacher, in most cases, these are callings — something that they felt compelled to do, they were born to do. Was that how you felt?”
Sampson: “Yes, sir. I truly did feel like it was my calling to be an officer, mostly because my father himself was an Army officer. I felt obligated to follow in his footsteps, but when I got there, it didn’t turn out like I thought it would or like I planned. I really thought my life was going to be wrapped around West Point for at least the next four years and until I graduated, but that’s not what happened.”
Hannity: “Willow?”
Brown: “Yes, sir, I had a similar experience to Hannah, where I found out about the service academies later into my high school experience, and I was between the Naval Academy and West Point, but ultimately I chose West Point because that’s where I felt called to serve and serve in my country’s Army for years afterwards. But as Nickaylah said, it was just not what I expected.”
Hannity: “Let me start with you, Willow and then Nickaylah and then Hannah, and I’ll ask you all the same question. Now, your life’s trajectory has changed dramatically; I’m sure it’s pretty traumatic for all of you. You really — it seems like you’d made up your decision; as I pointed out, many people in the military, nurses, doctors, EMTs, police, firemen, it’s not a matter of vax or don’t vax; they’ve made up their minds. Would it have been an option for all three of you to get tested, would you have gone along? Would you have stayed in the Academy? Willow?”
Brown: “For me, I would have to say no. Just from my experience in the classroom throughout my time at West Point, I just realized that they were not teaching the same values that I had believed them to. I left before the official vaccine mandate just because I saw the political indoctrination that was going on, and I knew it wasn’t the Academy I thought it would be, that I wanted to give the next 10 years of my life to the Army.”
Hannity: “Nickaylah?”
Sampson: “No, sir, I don’t think I would have stayed. Same as Willow said, I don’t think I would’ve been able to stay in a place where I saw something actively changing and I wasn’t agreeing with the things that they were teaching anymore.
“I wasn’t agreeing with the things the Army stood for; they said they stood for the citizen-soldier and I was no longer being treated as a citizen and more like just a soldier, so I wouldn’t have stayed.”
Hannity: “How about you, Hannah? What would you have done?”
MacDonald: “No, sir, I would not have stayed. I wasn’t just resisting an injection, but I was resisting a kingdom that glorifies ignorant submission and unethical behavior and unlawful orders and frankly, I was just very upset with the trajectory of our government right now and realizing they didn’t want me to lay down my life for my brothers and sisters, but for a political agenda.”
Megan Williams is a CNSNews intern and junior at Hillsdale College. She is majoring in Rhetoric and Public Address with a Journalism minor. She is the assistant opinions editor for the Hillsdale Collegian and enjoys covering local events, from concerts to conventions. Born and raised in Southern California, Megan is excited to experience D.C. and grow as a journalist with CNSNews.