President Biden delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Sunday, making his first appearance on a college campus amid widespread riots and anti-Israel protests.
Biden’s speech touched on everything from his career as vice president under President Obama to the war in Israel and campus protests.
Here are some of the most notable moments from Biden’s appearance.
racial accusation
Biden, who spoke at Morehouse, a historically black college, used the opportunity to specifically address black voters. He said students have to be “10 times better than everyone else to have a fair chance” and that the Republican Party is not accepting Black people.
“They don’t care about America’s future. But they’re wrong,” Biden said.
Biden praises Gaza ceasefire call
President Biden delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Sunday, making his first appearance on a college campus amid widespread riots and anti-Israel protests.
Biden’s first newsworthy moment of the day came when one of the graduates gave his own address. During the speech, students called for an “immediate and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza. Behind him, Biden could be seen applauding the idea.
The moment was the first hint at the contents of a speech Biden would later give, in which he explicitly called on Israel to ceasefire “immediately.” He also supported a two-state solution as “the only solution.”
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Biden revives old and misleading claims about Georgia election
President Biden receives an honorary degree from Morehouse College.
At one point during his speech, Biden sharply criticized Georgia’s election laws, rehashing misleading claims that voters were barred from receiving food or water while in line at polling places.
“Today in the state of Georgia, we’re not going to allow you access to water while you’re standing in line to vote in the election. What the hell does that mean?” Biden said.
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The comment was in reference to a Georgia law that prohibits poll workers from actively handing out water or food to voters within 150 feet of a polling place. However, the law does allow poll workers to provide self-service water from unattended receptacles within 150 feet of a polling place.
The law has been the focus of long-standing Democratic criticism of the recent Republican-led overhaul of Georgia’s election laws..
Some students turned their backs on Biden.
A Morehouse College faculty member turns away from the podium in protest of the Israel-Hamas war as President Biden speaks at Morehouse College’s graduation ceremony in Atlanta on May 19, 2024.
Some Morehouse students and faculty protested by turning their backs on Biden during his speech.
However, the protests were not widespread, and participants did not disrupt speeches other than to show their backs. But the small protests served as a reminder of the continued unrest on college campuses across the country, where anti-Israel protests have forced some universities to cancel graduation ceremonies altogether.
Ahead of Biden’s speech, some students called on the university to disinvite him. A group of several hundred alumni also sent a letter to the university saying Biden should not be the commencement speaker.
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“I think it’s insulting in a way that our star graduate is Dr. King, but Biden is running wild in the Middle East,” one student, DeAngelo Fletcher, told NPR. “It’s kind of an insult to bring him here to get the vote, especially in an election year, especially among young black people.”
