Biden's tepid response to campus protests shows it's a political powder keg

Biden seemed afraid to take a tough stance against the violence erupting on campuses – much of it by non-student outside agitators – as the White House grapples with an issue that could severely damage his reelection hopes.

The president spoke for four minutes only after days of silence on the protests as his advisers decided he had to wade into the growing conflict making voters uneasy.

"There's the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos," Biden said. "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."

"Destroying property is not a peaceful protest, it's against the law," he said.

The Democratic president added that antisemitism "has no place" in America but also condemned Islamophobia.

Biden also declined to take any action federally to stop the protests like calling in the National Guard.

On social media the White House sent out an even weaker statement, saying "There is no place for hate speech and violence of any kind in America – whether it's antisemitism, Islamophobia, discrimination against Arab Americans and Palestinian Americans. There is simply no place for racism."

The statement doesn't seem to actually mention Jewish Americans and the dangers they face.

It seemed like Biden was forced to say something because of the chilling images and tension and violence spilling over into the protests. He looked disengaged.

His comments came after police in riot gear clashed with students and other protesters at the UCLA campus. The protesters are demanding the White House pull its military support of Israel.

Biden's remarks also came after Donald Trump questioned why the president hadn't injected himself into the debate.

"This is a radical left revolution taking place in our country," Trump said. "Where is crooked Joe Biden?"The response by Biden was only barely stronger than that of many liberal Democrats calling for a cease fire in Gaza and denouncing the Israeli government.

Democrats and the White House are concerned that the protests will affect the presidential race, leading young people to sit out the election or vote for someone other than Biden.

Biden badly needs a heavy turnout among young people this November to win in battleground states, but polls show young voters are not supporting Biden in numbers like he enjoyed in 2020.

There is also worry that the protests will spill over into the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and repeat the violent confrontations between police and students that took place in that city in 1968. Months after that convention Republican Richard Nixon was elected president.

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Joe Battenfeld
Boston Herald/(TNS)

Joe Battenfeld is a veteran Boston Herald political columnist and multimedia reporter.