Right... another way to look at this response is it's really passive-aggressively hoping they figure out they are wrong; it's still looking for their approval.

If you are truly dependent on specifically them, eg for visa reasons, that can only lead to a "partially managed decline".

If not, it's better to make your own decision to switch tracks in a controlled way and leave their bullshit and your need to care at all about it behind. You only have so many days on the planet, you will regret wasting them with people that make you feel like this.