US president says he will not reconsider approach to Israel’s war in Gaza as university protests continue nationwide
Joe Biden on Thursday defended the right to protest but insisted that “order must prevail” as college campuses across the US continued to face unrest amid pro-Palestinian demonstrations against the war in Gaza and universities’ investments in companies that serve Israel.
The US president has stayed mostly quiet about the current phase of intensified protests at dozens of colleges coast to coast, from the Ivy League to small public institutions in the last two weeks, which has prompted the use of outside police on some campuses in controversial crackdowns.
“Dissent is essential for democracy,” Biden said at the White House. “But dissent must never lead to disorder.”
Biden said he did not support calls to send in national guard troops, which prominent Republican lawmakers have demanded he do.
