During the White House Press Briefing on April 24, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre was asked what “personal reaction” President Joe Biden is having to the protests and riots on college campuses across America. Those protests are mainly in support of Palestine and against American support for Israel during its fight with Hamas.
Though the protests have generally remained peaceful, the protesters have been condemned for taking over areas of universities, as taking over private property is generally prohibited and frowned upon, and some of the protests have escalated into riots that involved riot police clashing with protesters in an attempt to get them to stop occupying the private property.
KJP was then asked about those protesters, with a reporter in the press pool asking what personal reaction Biden is having to the campus chaos generally, and what he would say to the peaceful protesters and those on both sides of the issue who feel unfairly targeted.
The member of the press pool asked KJP, “And just what’s the President’s personal reaction to what he’s seeing playing out on these college campuses? What would he — be his message to those who are peacefully — peacefully protesting, you know, those who feel targeted on —you know, all sides of the community?”
KJP responded with a word salad. Beginning, she said that Biden has been “very clear,” but then was not clear about what his stance is. She said, “No, I hear your question. I think the President has been very clear. He’s put out — he put out a statement. In his Passover statement, he talked about the — it is — we can’t be silent here. Silent is complicit. And we can’t allow that.”
Then, she attempted to say that the Biden Administration supports free speech but is against “hateful rhetoric,” saying, “We sh- — we believe in First Amendment rights, right? We believe in people being able to express themselves in a peaceful manner. But when we’re talking about hateful rhetoric, when we’re talking about violence, we have to call that out. We have to call that.”
She then said that Biden is “consistent” in his stance, though she was not clear about what that stance is other than that it is against “hateful” rhetoric and thinks people should “have the opportunity to peacefully protest.”
In her words, “And we’ve been consistent here throughout this administration. The President has been consistent about it, obviously, since 2017, but even before that, when he saw what happened in Charlottesville. We have to call out hateful, violent rhetoric. But, you know, we want to make sure that people have the opportunity to peacefully protest — peacefully protest.”
Watch her here:
In another question about Biden’s stance on protests, one member of the press pool asked, “Karine, on that subject, President Biden once talked about the Vietnam War protests of his youth. And he said the reason why he didn’t participate was because, quote, “I wore sport coats… I am who I am. I’m not big on flak jackets and tie-dye shirts. And, you know, that’s not me.” Is that still his view about the protest movements? Or does he see them as — as useful in shaping policy or shaping a discourse?”
She said, “Look, obviously, the President, when he was talking about that, he was talking about the Vietnam War. That was a moment in time — a specific — you know, when he was younger and how he felt about that situation. And as President, you know, as Commander-in-Chief, where he sits right now, behind that Resolute Desk, and what he understands, it’s important to speak out. And he understands that, as a leader in this country, that when we see this type of antisemitic hate, this type of antisemitic vile — vile, we have to be very clear. We have to show moral clarity. We have to call that out.”
She added, “And I said this at the beginning: Students should feel safe, communities should feel safe, and we — you know, we can’t — we can’t stay silent. Obviously, it is a deeply painful moment. He sees that. He understands that. And he will always support and believes in free speech and debate and nondiscrimination on college campuses, as I said moments ago. And so — but we have to be able to do this and protest in a peaceful way. I don’t think that takes away from the comments that you just made, that — that you just gave back to me that the Pros- — President made. I don’t think that — that that’s any different — right? — than what the President is saying right now. Right? You have to be able to — be able to peacefully protest, but you got to call out hate. You got to call out hate.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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