Former President Trump pinned the blame on President Biden for the college graduations that have been canceled amid the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests, describing the president as “too weak to demand law and order.”
“Crooked Joe Biden is 100% responsible for these weak colleges, like Columbia University, cancelling the graduations for thousands of students!” Trump wrote on Truth Social just after midnight EDT Thursday. “Crooked Joe is caving to the Far-Left Pro-Terrorist Mobs because his donors are funding them, and he is too WEAK to demand LAW AND ORDER!”
Columbia University — which served as ground zero for the now-nationwide college protest movement — canceled its main graduation ceremony, citing “security concerns” after weeks of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. University of Southern California (USC) also canceled its main ceremony amid criticism over its decision to nix its pro-Palestinian valedictorian’s speech.
In both cases, the decision to cancel was made by the schools’ leadership, not Biden or his administration.
Trump, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, has repeatedly called out what he believes to be weakness from Biden on the campaign trail as the two prepare for a match-up in November’s general election.
The former president lamented that students and parents will be “robbed” of an important milestone.
“So now young people, who have worked very hard, and their parents, who have paid thousands of dollars to send their kids to school, are being robbed of one of the most important moments of their lives. Such a shame, and totally avoidable!!! MAGA 2024!” he wrote.
The Hill reached out to the White House for comment.
Protests calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have persisted for more than three weeks, with demonstrators calling on universities and the U.S. government to cut ties with Israel. More than 1,000 protestors — students, faculty and others — have been arrested since the first major encampment started at Columbia last month.
Many of the protests have been reported to be peaceful, though escalating tensions and the continuation of encampments and building takeovers have prompted several colleges to call in law enforcement. School administrators have argued the encampments and building takeovers are a disruption to campus activities and spark safety concerns for students, especially those who are Jewish.
Biden last week defended the right to peacefully protest while also criticizing the vandalism and trespassing taking place at some demonstrations.
“In moments like this, there are always those who rush in to score political points. But this isn’t a moment for politics,” Biden said in prepared remarks from the White House last week. “It’s a moment for clarity. So let me be clear … violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is.”
Biden also called out the antisemitism that has been reported among the protests, though many protest groups reject the characterizations of their demonstrations as antisemitic and highlight the participation of Jewish students in them.
“There should be no place on any campus, no place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students,” he said. “There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans. It is simply wrong.”