Trump condemns riots at pro-Palestinian protests at US universities

White House: Biden believes freedom of expression on college campuses is important

The New York Times (NYT), an American daily newspaper, reported on the 24th (local time) that former U.S. President Donald Trump described the recent pro-Palestinian protests that have been spreading on U.S. college campuses as “riots.”

Regarding the 2020 U.S. presidential election, former President Trump said on his social media site ‘Truth Social’, “Joe Biden has constantly said that he ran because of Charlottesville,” and “if that’s the case, he really did a terrible job.

“Because Charlottesville seems like a small thing compared to the riots and anti-Israel protests that are happening across our country right now,” he said.

Former President Trump also claimed that President Biden hates Israel and Jews, adding, “The problem is that he (Biden) hates Palestinians more and he just doesn’t know what to do.”

The Charlottesville incident is a white supremacist violent protest that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA in 2017.

At that time, thousands of white supremacists across the United States staged a ‘Unite the Right’ protest in Charlottesville, carrying symbols of the Confederacy, which defended slavery during the Civil War, and neo-Nazi symbols.

In the process, one woman who attended a counter-rally against racism was hit and killed by their vehicle, and dozens of people were injured.

Former President Trump, who was in his early days in office at the time, received strong criticism for his attitude that seemed to support white supremacists.

When President Biden announced his candidacy for the 2020 presidential election, he mentioned former President Trump’s ‘two-pronged theory’ criticizing both white supremacists and counter-protesters during the Charlottesville incident, and said that this influenced his decision to run. there is.

Recently, protests in support of Palestine have been spreading at American universities, and the U.S. political world ahead of the November presidential election is closely watching the impact of these protests.

As the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas continues for more than half a year, university students’ protests opposing the war and calling for a ceasefire are spreading into anti-Semitic controversy.

Demonstrators are demonstrating by pitching tents and occupying buildings on campus to show support and solidarity with the Gaza Strip in Palestine.

Some universities canceled in-person classes and asked for police cooperation, and police arrested hundreds of people on charges including trespassing.

In some areas, physical clashes occurred between police and protesters who attempted to forcibly disperse or arrest protesters.

Some point to the recent series of anti-Semitic incidents, raising concerns that the safety of Jewish students is not being guaranteed on campus.

However, the NYT reported that in most cases, these protests were carried out in a peaceful manner, except for a few cases in which expressions of support for Hamas or hateful remarks against Jews were made.

President Biden, who has voiced concerns about the trend of anti-Semitism and the intensification of pro-Palestinian protests in American universities, supports freedom of expression on campus, a White House spokesman said on the 24th.

According to AFP, White House press secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing that day, “The president believes that freedom of expression, debate, and the absence of discrimination are important on college campuses.”

“We believe that people can express their views in a peaceful way,” Jean-Pierre said, “but we must criticize hateful speech and violence.”

/yunhap news