(DailyAnswer.org) – Former President Donald Trump has praised law enforcement for arresting students at Pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Before entering the courtroom for his ongoing criminal trial in Manhattan, Trump said to reporters that the protesters were “morons” who should not be allowed to take over the country. He called the police of New York and Los Angeles “great people” and stressed how proud he was of “America’s finest”. On May 2 police moved into the UCLA encampment and broke up the protests against Israel’s government after the arrival of Pro-Israeli counter-protesters led to a surge in violence on the campus.
Students at Columbia University commented that the community there was “shattered” after the university’s president Minouche Shafik called in a police raid to break up the protests. One anonymous protester claimed that the activists were “ambushed” by the police before being tackled and beaten. A journalism graduate student at the university, Meghnad Bose, described police behavior against protesters as “rough and aggressive”. The NYPD denied using excessive force, and Police Commissioner Edward Caban stated that officers broke up the protests out of concern for public safety.
The police that broke up the UCLA protests were also heavily criticized for their response. California governor, Gavin Newsom said the violent attacks carried out against Pro-Israel counter protesters against the Pro-Palestine activists was “unacceptable”. As assaults against the protesters escalated for several hours, police on the scene reportedly refused to intervene. Dozens of Pro-Palestine activists were arrested at the Columbia University protests after windows were smashed and an “Intifada” banner was lowered.
President Joe Biden condemned antisemitism at the protests and announced new measures to combat it on university campuses. The move risks further alienating Democratic voters, who are demanding a ceasefire and accusing the president of being complicit in massacres of Palestinians. Some Democratic Representatives said they fear political backlash in the November election from the protesters. Trump has criticized Biden for failing to control the chaos at campuses, and referred to the protesters as “radical left lunatics” who must be stopped. The former president did not comment on the violence instigated by Pro-Israel counter-protesters.
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