Lawyer Claims Martha's Vineyard 'Shunning' Over Trump Support

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA – Alan Dershowitz's Martha's Vineyard clique doesn't want to hang out with him anymore, the outspoken attorney says. The reason? His occasional defense of President Donald Trump.

Dershowitz penned an op-ed in The Hill in which he likens losing a few friends over unpopular opinions to McCarthyism. The piece, "Maxine Waters does not speak for Democrats or liberals," is an indictment on those on the left who have harassed members of the Trump administration or the president's supporters.

"Either you are for Trump or against him, and that is all some people need to know to make judgments about you," Dershowitz writes.

To prove his point, Dershowitz laments the loss of his island social life after sticking up for Trump. He says though he has defended the president's civil liberties, he is a liberal Democrat in politics and has voted for and contributed (handsomely, he might add) to Hillary Clinton.

"But that is not good enough for some of my old friends on Martha’s Vineyard. For them, it is enough that what I have said about the Constitution might help Trump. So they are shunning me and trying to ban me from their social life on Martha’s Vineyard," Dershowitz writes. "One of them, an academic at a distinguished university, has told people that he would not attend any dinner or party to which I was invited. He and others have demanded 'trigger warnings' so that they can be assured of having 'safe spaces' in which they will not encounter me or my ideas. Others have said they will discontinue contributions to organizations that sponsor my talks."

According to Dershowitz, this is akin to McCarthyism in the 1950s, which he never thought he "would see come to Martha's Vineyard." He will bravely stand up for his views even if it costs him a couple dinner parties, but he wonders if there are people who will be bullied into silence.

"Right now I am speaking up in disagreement with Maxine Waters," he concludes. "She — like those who shun me on Martha’s Vineyard — is part of the problem rather than the solution."

Read the full op-ed from The Hill.

Top photo courtesy of John Lamparski / Stringer / Getty Images North America