President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "a routine appointment" was "being used to provoke the universities."[37] He also named protestors as "terorists" and denounced LGBT youth.[38][39] MHP chairman Devlet Bahçeli stated in his written statement that the rector was appointed by legal means and the issue was closed. Bahçeli added that the protesters should not "strain their chances" and "not get caught up in anarchist projects", describing the protests "a conspiracy that needs to be crushed."[40] Erdogan's Secretary of Interior Soylu stated that rector elections do not need to be democratic.[41][42]