Joe Biden Responds To Campus Unrest: “There’s The Right To Protest, But Not The Right To Cause Chaos”
President Joe Biden weighed in on the unrest on college campuses as a wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations has led to mass arrests, vandalism and some violent incidents, saying in brief remarks that “order must prevail.”
“There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room.
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The president had been urged to make some kind of statement after weeks of demonstrations. In recent days, the occupation of a building at Columbia University and an encampment at UCLA have dominated press coverage.
The White House has grappled with a response to divisions on the left, with Palestinian and Arab Americans protesting Biden’s support for Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attack. That has raised doubts about Biden’s ability to hold the Democratic coalition that helped him win the White House in 2020. Demonstrators have referred to the president as “genocide Joe.”
Asked after his remarks if the protests have led him to reconsider his position on the Israel-Hamas war, Biden said, “No.” He also said he did not believe the National Guard should be called in to quell the unrest.
The protests have been seized upon by Donald Trump as a sign that Biden’s presidency has created chaos in the country, adding to other issues like the border.
In his speech, Biden said that “in moments like this there are always those who run in to score political points.”
“But this isn’t a moment for politics. It’s one for clarity. So let me be clear … violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is.”
“It’s against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations. None of this is a peaceful protest.”
He added, “Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or denying the rights of others so students can finish their semester and their college education.” The protests have led some universities to cancel events, including graduation ceremonies.
Biden also said that “there should be no place on any campus, no place in America for anti-semitism and threats of violence against Jewish students. There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it is anti-semitism, Islamophobia or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian. It is simply wrong. There is no place for racism in America.”
President Biden on college campus protests: "There's the right to protest, but not the right to chaos." pic.twitter.com/wtmvjOrLWH
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 2, 2024
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