Biden finally breaks his silence on campus protests
US president Joe Biden has been under pressure, not just by his rival in the upcoming presidential election, former President Donald Trump, but also from the American public, who have been wondering why he’s been absent as these nationwide protests grow on college campuses.
There have been comments from the National Security Council spokesperson, the deputy press secretary, the press secretary, all saying pretty much what the president said: that these protests are not within the law, that the White House supports free speech, the right to protest and freedom of assembly, but that it doesn’t support protests that are unlawful.
One of the questions asked to President Biden was whether the demonstrations would make him change any of his policies on Gaza. The answer was no, without hesitation or qualification. And that’s what could have quelled this disruption. The fact that he was not willing to budge on that is going to be a problem for Biden, because he needs these young people to win re-election, and he trails Trump in a lot of battleground states.
The US president has a problem, and so far, he has not changed his tack.
Trump weighs in on protests from hush money trial
Biden’s comments came shortly after Trump again weighed in on the protests. Speaking outside of his criminal trial, where he faces 34 felony charges related to payments made to an adult film star, Trump praised police in New York and California for cracking down on protesters.
“[The NYPD] did a job in Columbia and likewise in Los Angeles they did a really good job at UCLA,” he said.
He then renewed a familiar line.
“These are radical left lunatics. And they’ve got to be stopped,” he said.
