Before entering the courthouse for another day of his New York criminal trial, former President Donald Trump commented on the ongoing anti-Israel protests at universities nationwide, criticizing President Joe Biden for conveying the “wrong” message during the Middle East conflict.
Close to Trump’s hush money trial in lower Manhattan, students at Columbia University on the Upper West Side have participated in anti-Israel demonstrations, prompting a university rabbi to warn Jewish students of potential “extreme antisemitism and anarchy” on campus and advise them to go home. Due to safety concerns, Columbia shifted to remote learning on Monday, with classes at its main campus held in a hybrid format when possible for the rest of the semester, CNN reported.
Anti-Israel protests have also erupted at New York University and Yale, where dozens of demonstrators were arrested, according to The New York Times.
“What’s going on at the colleges — Columbia, NYU, and others — is a disgrace,” Trump told reporters outside the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday morning. “It’s really on Biden. He’s got the wrong signal, he’s got the wrong tone, he’s got the wrong words. He doesn’t know who he’s backing. And It’s a mess.”
“What’s going on is a disgrace to our country. It’s all Biden’s fault and everybody knows it,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee added. “He’s got no message. He’s got no compassion. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He can’t put two sentences together, frankly. He is the worst president in the history of our country.”
On Monday, President Biden was asked if he denounces the “antisemitic protests on college campuses,” to which he responded, “I denounce the antisemitic protests. That’s why I’ve established a program to address the issue.”
“I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,” Biden added.
Trump on pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses: "A disgrace" pic.twitter.com/r6VUgYsCRj
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In his comments to reporters, Trump reiterated his disapproval of authorities for barring protests outside the courtroom during his trial, while allowing anti-Israel protesters to dominate large parts of college campuses.
“It’s interesting [that] outside for great Americans — people that want to come down and they want to protest at the court and they want to protest peacefully — we have more police presence here than anyone’s ever seen. For blocks,” Trump said. “You can’t get near this courthouse, and yet you have nobody up at a college where you have very radical people wanting to rip the colleges down.”
Last week, Columbia University, a private institution, requested the NYPD to remove protest encampments from its campus. NYPD officials reported that over 100 people were issued summonses for trespassing. Despite this action, anti-Israel demonstrators persisted with their on-campus sit-in into the current week.
