|
Biden: Order Must Prevail at Protests 05/03 06:08
President Joe Biden on Thursday rejected calls from student protesters to
change his approach to the war in Gaza while insisting that "order must
prevail" as college campuses across the country face a wave of violence,
outrage and fear.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden on Thursday rejected calls from
student protesters to change his approach to the war in Gaza while insisting
that "order must prevail" as college campuses across the country face a wave of
violence, outrage and fear.
"Dissent is essential for democracy," Biden said at the White House. "But
dissent must never lead to disorder."
The Democratic president broke days of silence on the protests with his
remarks, which followed mounting criticism from Republicans who have tried to
turn scenes of unrest into a campaign cudgel. By focusing on a law-and-order
message while defending the right to free speech, Biden is grasping for a
middle ground on an intensely divisive issue in the middle of his reelection
campaign.
He largely sidestepped protesters' demands, which have included ending U.S.
support for Israeli military operations. Asked after his remarks whether the
demonstrations would prompt him to consider changing course, Biden responded
with a simple "no."
Biden said that he did not want the National Guard to be deployed to
campuses. Some Republicans have called for sending in troops, an idea with a
fraught history. Four students were shot and killed at Kent State University by
members of the Ohio National Guard during protests over the Vietnam War in 1970.
Tensions on college campuses have been building for days as demonstrators
refuse to remove encampments and administrators turn to police to clear them by
force, leading to clashes that have seized widespread attention.
Biden said he rejected efforts to use the situation to "score political
points," calling the situation a "moment for clarity."
"There's the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos," Biden said
shortly before leaving the White House for a trip to North Carolina. "People
have the right to get an education, the right to get a degree, the right to
walk across campus safely without fear of being attacked."
The White House also maintained its focus on combating antisemitism. Doug
Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, spoke to Jewish students and
Hillel leaders on Thursday to hear about their experience with threats and hate
speech, according to a White House official.
Biden will make his own visit to a college campus on May 19 when he's
scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Morehouse University in
Atlanta.
His last previous public comment on the demonstrations came more than a week
ago, when he condemned "antisemitic protests" and "those who don't understand
what's going on with the Palestinians."
The White House, which has been peppered with questions by reporters, had
gone only slightly further than the president. On Wednesday, press secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden was "monitoring the situation closely" and
that some demonstrations had stepped over a line that separated free speech
from unlawful behavior.
"Forcibly taking over a building," such as what happened at Columbia
University in New York, "is not peaceful," she said. "It's just not."
Biden's latest remarks weren't well received in some corners of the
Democratic Party.
"We need to prevent lawlessness in society. We need to have protections
against hate speech," said a social media post from Patrick Gaspard, president
of the Center for American Progress and a former White House political director
under President Barack Obama. "But we need to be able to hold space for active
dissent and activism that is discomforting without blanket accusations of hate
and violence against all activists."
But Biden's team has expressed confidence that his stance appeals to the
widest array of voters. It also echoes his approach to nationwide unrest after
the murder of George Floyd by a police officer four years ago, a politically
volatile situation in the middle of his campaign against then-President Donald
Trump.
"I want to make it absolutely clear rioting is not protesting, looting is
not protesting," Biden said then in remarks that his team turned into an
advertisement. "It's lawlessness, plain and simple, and those that do it should
be prosecuted."
Biden has never been much for protests of any kind. His career in elected
office began as a county official when he was only 28 years old, and he's
always espoused the political importance of compromise.
As college campuses convulsed with anger over the Vietnam War in 1968, Biden
was in law school at Syracuse University.
"I'm not big on flak jackets and tie-dyed shirts," he said years later. "You
know, that's not me."
The White House has also maintained its focus on combating antisemitism.
Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, spoke to Jewish students
and Hillel leaders on Thursday to hear about their experience with threats and
hate speech, according to a White House official.
Despite the administration's criticism of violent college protests and
Biden's refusal to heed demands to cut off U.S. support for Israel, Republicans
blame Democrats for the disorder and have used it as a backdrop for press
conferences.
"We need the president of the United States to speak to the issue and say
this is wrong," House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said on
Tuesday. "What's happening on college campuses right now is wrong."
Johnson visited Columbia University with other members of his caucus last
week. House Republicans sparred verbally with protesters while speaking to the
media at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
Trump, who is running for another term as president, also criticized Biden
in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
"Biden has to do something," he said. "Biden is supposed to be the voice of
our country, and it's certainly not much of a voice. It's a voice that nobody's
heard."
He repeated his criticisms on Wednesday during a campaign event in Waukesha,
Wisconsin.
"The radical extremists and far-left agitators are terrorizing college
campuses, as you possibly noticed," Trump said. "And Biden's nowhere to be
found. He hasn't said anything."
Kate Berner, who served as deputy communications director for Biden's
campaign in 2020, said Republicans already had tried the same tactic during
protests over Floyd's murder.
"People rejected that," she said. "They saw that it was just fearmongering.
They saw that it wasn't based in reality."
Apart from condemning antisemitism, the White House has been reluctant to
directly engage on the issue.
Jean-Pierre repeatedly deflected questions during a briefing on Monday.
Asked whether protesters should be disciplined by their schools, she said
"universities and colleges make their own decisions" and "we're not going to
weigh in from here."
Pressed on whether police should be called in, she said "that's up to the
colleges and universities."
Asked on Thursday why Biden chose to speak on the matter after police had
arrested protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles and at
universities in New York City, Jean-Pierre stressed instead the importance of
any protests being nonviolent.
"We've been very consistent here," she said. "Americans have the right to
peacefully protest as long as it's within the law and violence is not
protected."
|
|