Former President Trump condemned protests occurring on college campuses across the country over the war in Gaza, saying the Columbia University students who occupied the building were the same as those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He wondered if he would face a similar outcome.
“I think this whole country is going to rise up in arms and invade our universities and slam down on Columbia University,” President Trump said Tuesday, standing outside the courtroom for his first criminal trial centered on the 2016 hush-money scandal. I’m tired of it,” he told reporters. motion.
“I mean, they took over, I know that building very well. They took over the building, that’s a big deal,” the former president continued. “And I wonder if what happens to them will be similar to what happened to J6, because they cause a lot of destruction, a lot of damage, a lot of people are seriously injured. be.”
“I wonder if they will be treated the same way they gave J6,” he added of the Jan. 6 rioters. “Let’s see how it goes. I think we can answer it right now. And that’s why people are losing faith in our court system.”
President Trump has criticized President Biden in recent days over campus protests and has sought to link the violence on campuses across the country to the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
His latest comments were published after students taken control of They barricaded the doors and chanted pro-Palestinian slogans at Hamilton Hall on the Columbia University campus in New York City. The university closed its campus to all but students living in residence halls and essential employees.
Associated Press report About 1,000 people were arrested on campuses across the country during the protests.
The former president had previously minimized the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, comparing it to ongoing riots on college campuses. But on Tuesday, for the first time, comparisons were made to the events of January 6, when Trump’s supporters violently stormed the Capitol to try to stop the certification of the 2020 election results.
Hundreds of people have faced criminal charges in the aftermath of the riot, including plead guiltyand Trump himself is facing federal charges in Washington, D.C., for trying to subvert the election and maintain power.
President Trump has repeatedly expressed sympathy for the rioters charged in connection with January 6th, and one of his first actions if re-elected is to release those jailed on riot charges. He said that.
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