Fox’s McEnany: ‘I give Biden zero credit’ for statement on college protests
Fox News host Kaleigh McEnany said she is not willing to give President Biden any credit for condemning demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza that have broken out across college campuses in recent days, some of which have turned violent.
“Joe Biden hails from the left, he is a Democrat president. I’m sorry, but I give him no credit today. Zero credit today,” she said on Fox’s afternoon talk show “Outnumbered.” “I like to give Biden credit when credit is due. Not today.”
Biden, in remarks to reporters gathered at the White House on Thursday, forcefully admonished Pro-Palestine demonstrators who police have clashed with on campuses ranging from the University of California, Los Angeles, to Columbia University in New York City.
“In moments like this, there are always those who rush in to score political points. But this isn’t a moment for politics,” Biden said. “It’s a moment for clarity. So let me be clear … violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is.”
“Destroying property is not a peaceful protest, it’s against the law,” he continued. “Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation. None of this is a peaceful protest, threatening people, intimidating people.”
Former President Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president this fall, has also blasted Biden’s handling of the crisis. He even suggested earlier this week that the student demonstrators are being dealt with more gently than those who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots.
Leading conservative pundits and lawmakers have for days have been blasting Biden for not speaking on the sprawling demonstrations.
“Biden speaks today because politically, the moment demanded it,” McEnany, Trump’s one-time White House press secretary, said Thursday.
“If Donald Trump had delivered those exact same remarks in the exact same timeline, the White House Press briefing room would be at a fever pitch, I would be yelled at,” she added. “He would be yelled at … the former president has been the moral authority on this issue, not the current one.”
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