WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clashed this week over Palestinian protests that erupted on college campuses, offering vastly different messages heading into the 2024 election.
In a speech from the White House on Thursday, Biden sought to balance the unrest on campuses across the country, making it clear that while the United States respects peaceful protests, “violent protests will not be protected.” He argued that it should be.
Biden’s speech came after days of attacks on protesters by Trump. The president’s comments underscored the delicate line Biden is walking to maintain a Democratic coalition that includes young voters protesting the Gaza war while remaining unwavering in support for Israel.
“You have the right to protest, but you don’t have the right to cause chaos,” Biden said.
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In between appearances in a New York courtroom this week for a hush money trial, President Trump struck a very different tone, encouraging police crackdowns at Columbia University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and other universities across the country. He went a step further than Biden in his message on law and order, praising police enforcement as “a beautiful thing to see.”
Trump, who is considered the likely Republican candidate, has linked Biden to the disruption and destruction of universities in order to appeal to undecided independent voters, suburban voters, and moderate Republicans who are unsure of supporting Trump. I am planning to do so.
“These are far-left lunatics and they have to stop now,” President Trump said of the protesters before appearing in court Thursday.
University protests didn’t give Biden good political options
In the days leading up to Biden’s most far-reaching remarks on the protests, Trump mocked Biden’s silence on footage of destruction on college campuses.
Biden struck back in a subtle way on Thursday.
Biden did not mention Trump by name, but said, “There are always people in moments like this who rush to score political points.” “But now is not the time for politics, this is the time for clarity.”
The wave of university protests presents a dilemma for Biden. Strongly opposing the protests and praising the actions of university leaders and police could further alienate young voters, a key Democratic constituency. But defending the rights of demonstrators is a new line of attack for President Trump and the Republican Party, which wants to foist national instability on Biden.
In the end, Biden tried to play it both ways, saying enough is enough of the violence while defending the right to peacefully protest. Biden also condemned the anti-Semitism that has surfaced at some protests, while also denouncing “Islamophobia” and discrimination against Arab-Americans.
“We are not an authoritarian nation that silences people or suppresses dissent,” Biden said. “But we are also not a lawless state. We are a civil society and order must prevail.”
Two of Biden’s most thought-provoking remarks came after his prepared speech ended. Asked by reporters whether the protests had forced him to reconsider his policy toward Israel, Mr. Biden answered, “No.”
Asked if he thought the National Guard should intervene at protests, as some Republicans have called for, Biden also said “no.”
President Trump uses university protests to downplay January 6th attacks
Similar to the George Floyd protests in 2020, Trump and Republicans have pointed to pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, saying Biden and Democrats are beholden to the far left and are reluctant to enforce the law. It gives the impression that it is relevant.
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Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia University last week to quell protests, and other House Republicans made a short trip this week to George Washington University, another site of pro-Palestinian protests.
“As you are probably aware, extremists and far-left agitators are terrorizing college campuses, and Biden is nowhere to be found. He is nowhere to be found. hasn’t said anything.” . ”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rejected the idea that Trump’s criticism prompted Biden’s speech. “He doesn’t have to obey anyone when it comes to things like this,” Jean-Pierre said.
Regarding this year’s protests, President Trump also argued that there is a double standard between liberals and conservatives.
President Trump has suggested that authorities may not prosecute protesters like those who occupied, barricaded and vandalized buildings in Colombia.
President Trump has also used violence to make light of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in a failed attempt to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2000 election. In this incident, supporters of President Trump attempted to storm the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., but the attack ended in failure.
President Trump condemned the college protesters this week, saying, “I wonder if what happens to them is going to be like what happened to J6, because they caused a lot of destruction, a lot of damage, a lot of… Because of the people who do it.” I’m hurt very badly. ”
He added: “I think we can answer that right now…That’s why people are losing faith in our court system.”
In response, Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said President Trump has supported Jan. 6 and other right-wing demonstrators for years. Trump is a “chaotic, hateful, divisive figure who stokes the flames to turn Americans against each other.”