The day after pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses across the country turned violent as protesters forcibly occupied a building and clashed with police and counter-protesters, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed during a May 1 briefing to state President Joe Biden’s position on the recent developments.
Her answer was a two-pronged general statement reiterating the administration’s continued condemnation of anti-semitism and hate speech and recognition of Americans’ right to protest peacefully within the limits of the law.
Ms. Jean-Pierre told reporters that President Biden and his team are “monitoring the situation closely.” When asked why he remained silent after the recent violence, she reiterated the president’s record of fighting antisemitism as proof of his pre-established position.
“What we believe—and we’re very clear on this—is that peacefully protesting within the law is something that every American should have the right to do,” she said. “We’re also going to call out any type of anti-semitism that we are hearing, that we are seeing.”
Ms. Jean-Pierre shared the administration’s recognition of students’ right to learn and feel safe on campus and, in a reference to protesters in Columbia occupying a campus building, its belief that taking over buildings “is not peacefully protesting.”
However, Ms. Jean-Pierre declined to officially condemn any other aspect of the protests beyond the anti-semitism and “disruption that really takes away from student’s academic experience,” which, she also said, was being undertaken by “a small percentage of students.”
What was President Biden’s view on the tearing down of the U.S. flag by some campus protesters to raise the Palestinian flag in its place?
“Americans have the right to peacefully protest within the law—within the law. And we have to also respect that,” Mr. Jean-Pierre replied before reiterating the aforementioned views regarding “taking over buildings” and anti-semitism.
When asked for the White House’s opinion on the ways schools like Columbia University opted to handle the protests, Ms. Jean-Pierre declined to answer, deferring to the individual school’s leadership and law enforcement agencies.
“That is a decision for colleges and universities to decide on. The law enforcement ... they have a better sense of what’s going on in the ground. And obviously, they have to make decisions.”
Asked if the president was aware of the unenrolled protesters, Ms. Jean-Pierre said she could not speak to that, directing the question to local law enforcement.
The White House press secretary also declined to answer whether the president wanted his administration to find out who is funding some of the protests.
“I cannot speak to the organizations that are being reported,” she said.
Local officials would have better information on that, she said, and the Department of Justice and FBI would continue to offer support to colleges and universities “with respect to federal laws.”
