Former President Donald Trump blamed the rising chaos at college campuses on President Joe Biden, saying he has “no message” and “no compassion.”
“What’s going on at the college level and the colleges, Columbia, NYU and others, is a disgrace,” Trump told reporters outside a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday morning.
“And it’s really on Biden. He has 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.”
Tensions have boiled over on several college campuses the past week, with protesters demanding schools divest from companies they allege “profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine.” The protesters also seek an end to Israel’s military action in Gaza.
“If this were me, they’d be after me so much, but they’re trying to give him a pass,” Trump added. “What’s going on is a disgrace to our country. And it’s all Biden’s fault and everybody knows it.”
Columbia University, Harvard, Yale, and New York University were among the most active with more than 100 arrests reported following a demonstration last week at Columbia in Morningside Heights. In response, Columbia President Minouche Shafik canceled in-person learning on Monday and classes were to be conducted remotely. In her statement, Shafik called for the campus community to “deescalate the rancor” and “find ways to compromise on solutions.”
“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,” Trump continued. “He’s the worst president in the history of our country. What’s going on is a disgrace.”
“We have more police presence here than anyone’s ever seen, for blocks. You can’t get near this courthouse,” Trump said. “And if you have nobody up at a college, where you have very radical people wanting to rip the colleges down, the universities down, and that’s a shame.”
Since Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis beginning Oct. 7, the war in Gaza has stretched into its sixth month with proxy conflicts continuing to emerge. On Monday, Hezbollah launched a series of drone strikes deep inside Israel in response to Israel killing a senior operative earlier in the day.
“Peace will never happen with a guy like this,” Trump added.