Recently, U.S. President Joe Biden's silence on university campus protests and police crackdown has sparked controversy over the war in Gaza.
At the same time, as demonstrators refused to evacuate the camp, the school turned to law enforcement to clear the site, causing the clashes to attract attention from politicians and the media.
However, more than a week has passed since Biden last commented publicly, when he denounced "anti-Semitic protests" and "those who do not know the situation of the Palestinians."
According to British media on May 2, the White House has only made a slight response.
On Wednesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was "closely monitoring the situation," saying some demonstrations had crossed the line between free speech and illegal behavior.
"It's not right to forcibly occupy buildings, as happened at Columbia University in New York, and it's not peaceful," she said.
Biden never paid much attention to the protests. His electoral career, which began as a county official at the age of 28, has always emphasized the political importance of compromise over fanaticism.
While the White House criticized this and Biden rejected protesters' demands to cut off U.S. support for Israel, Republicans blamed the Democrats for the chaos and used it as a backdrop for the press conference.
"We need the president of the United States to speak up and say it's wrong," Louisiana Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday. "What is currently happening on college campuses is wrong. ”
Johnson visited Columbia University last week with other members of the state's delegation. On Wednesday, at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., House Republicans addressed the media while clashes with protesters.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, also criticized Biden in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
"Biden has to act," he said. "Biden is supposed to be the voice of our country, but he really has little voice. Hardly anyone heard him. ”
He reiterated his criticism Wednesday at a campaign event in Waukeshaw, Wisconsin.
"Radical extremists and far-left agitators are terrorizing college campuses, as you may have noticed," Trump said. Biden was nowhere to be seen. He didn't say anything. ”
Kate Berner, Biden's deputy communications director for the 2020 campaign, said Republicans had tried a similar tactic four years ago during the protests sparked by George Floyd's murder by police.
"People are saying no," she said. They recognize that this is just creating panic. They recognize that the Republican Party is trying to turn the campus protest into a campaign chip against the Democratic Party. ”
Some political observers believe that Biden's silence on the campus protest may be motivated by political considerations. He wants to maintain party unity and avoid controversy among his supporters. In addition, Biden may also want to avoid a rift in the relationship with Israel, which is an important ally of the United States.
In any case, the issue of campus protests and police repression continues to be hotly debated in society and politics. This reflects the collision of different perspectives and values in American society on issues such as freedom of speech, racial justice, and foreign policy.
How to respond to these protests will be a challenging political issue for Biden, and he will need to find the right balance between maintaining order at home and balancing the interests of all parties.