Biden says ‘order must prevail’ during campus protests over Gaza • FRANCE 24 English

Biden says ‘order must prevail’ during campus protests over Gaza • FRANCE 24 English

going to instead cross Straight live to the White House Joe Biden the US president just starting to speak about what’s been unfolding on those University campuses the first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard the second is the rule of law both must be upheld we are not an authoritarian Nation where we silence people are squash descent the American people are heard in fact peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues but but neither are we a lawless country we are a civil society and Order must Prevail throughout our history we’ve often faced moments like this because we are a big diverse freethinking and freedom loving nation in moments like this are always those who rush and to score political points but this isn’t a moment for politics it’s for clarity so let me be clear peaceful protest in America 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 threatening people intimidating people people instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest it’s against the law descent is essential to democracy but descent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education look it’s basically a matter of fairness it’s a matter of what’s right there’s the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos people have the right to get an education the right to get a degree the right to walk across the campus safely without fear of being attacked but let’s be clear about this as well there should be no place on any campus no place in America for anti-Semitism or threats of violence against Jewish students there is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind whether it’s anti-Semitism islamophobia or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans it’s simply wrong there’s no place for racism in America it’s all wrong it’s unamerican I understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions in America we respect the right and protect the right for them to express that but it doesn’t mean anything goes it needs to be done without violence without destruction without hate and within the law you know I make no mistake as president I will always defend free speech and I will always be just as strong as standing up for the rule of law that’s my responsibility to you the American people my obligation to the Constitution thank you very much Mr President have the protests forced you to reconsider any of the policies with regard to the region no thank you Mr President do you think the National Guard should intervene no Mr do you agree with what the students are calling for Mr President the former president said President Joe Biden speaking live there at the White House following uh a number of raids on University campuses over praza protests Joe Biden saying their students have a right to protest but not he says cause chaos listening to that with me Douglas Herbert our Foreign Affairs commentator what do you make of the language there from Biden well first of all was relatively short as you could see he really didn’t take any questions uh wanted to get away relatively quickly uh and he said the piece there was no you know breakthrough in his comments there nothing that that would draw dropping he B basically was threading the needle we were talking about earlier uh basically saying that as president he will always uphold a free speech and that is obviously in shrined in the first amendment that that right to free speech to express yourself but he was equally adamant about that I have this counterveiling responsibility as president to uphold the rule of law rule of law obviously is also uh you know the campaign slogan if you will of a lot of the the the political forces in the country to the right of him Donald Trump uh you know basically said in the past 24 hours say said that watching those uh police move in and break up those protests is a beautiful thing to watch those were his words so very much whipping up this sentiment uh of Law and Order uh away from chaos so you could see Biden basically walking a tight RPP here he was walking that tight RPP between trying to uh to basically concede that yes you have a right to express yourself but as he said right at the outset there is no place in the US Constitution there is no right enshrined in in US democracy to Violent pro pro yes peaceful protest is very much protected that’s the line now the question here obviously is he had been under enormous pressure to say something there had been you know competing vying influences on the Progressive uh wing of his party they think that he hasn’t taken a a strong enough stand against Israel um and come down hard enough on Netanyahu uh and also in favor of these of these protests but then there was an equal um Uprising and and and and and human cry if you will among a lot of people to the right of him basically saying that he had to become firmer stand much more firmer against protests that a lot of people saw as nothing short of just outright violence and disruption and Chaos uh at American universities that was preventing a lot of students well beyond making a lot of students feel un unsafe and threatened and unable to just peacefully go to class was disrupting their ability to to pursue their studies so that is the extremely fine balance Biden obviously at risk of and his campaign strategist very much afraid that the Coalition that helped bring him to to power and get him elected that youth Coalition the 18 to 24 year olds you could push it a little more to 30 to 35 year olds that Coalition is at risk of crumbling largely because of this issue will it go away in the next few weeks will it fizzle out as the university CA campuses disperses the students leave on their summer holidays the the commencements the graduations are coming up Colombia’s is on May 15th that’s perhaps The Hope in the white house then you have the fall term it will be a whole new thing by then we’ll have a whole new calculus perhaps for this Middle East conflict that’s what they’re banking on but right now the pressure couldn’t be greater on a Biden Administration that has been seen by many as not forceful enough in speaking out for one side or for the other that’s why it’s a damned if you do damned if you don’t sort of situation for him

President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the right to protest but insisted that “order must prevail” as college campuses across the country face unrest over the war in Gaza. “Dissent is essential for democracy,” he said at the White House. “But dissent must never lead to disorder.”
#Gaza #UCLA #Biden

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