The White House ignored a request from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) for President Biden to call up the National Guard on college campuses amid mass protests over the Israel-Hamas war on Thursday.
Mr. Johnson visited Columbia University on Wednesday, the first of large-scale pro-Palestinian protests that have spread to dozens of college campuses across the country, and Mr. Biden called in the National Guard to quell peaceful demonstrations. said it should.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the issue was not for the president to decide.
“That’s for the governor to decide,” he told reporters, noting that Biden had previously criticized the protests as anti-Semitic.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson went a step further on Wednesday, calling the protests “dangerous”.
“If this is not contained quickly and these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there will be an appropriate time for the National Guard,” he said.
The student and faculty protests are calling on the Biden administration to uphold a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, end military aid to Israel, and advocate for universities to withdraw from Israeli interests. ing.
Hundreds of students, faculty and staff were arrested across the country as some universities called on local and state police to violently break up demonstrations.
Six months after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, a majority of Democrats believe the United States should take action against Israel, citing concerns over mass civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip and accusations of war crimes. He has said he believes military aid should be limited.
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