On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” Biden Campaign Co-Chair Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said that protests can’t spill over into violence and intimidation and some campus protests did require the police to be brought in, there were “protests on many campuses that were peaceful, but, in recent days, we’ve seen, in a few cases, those protests become violent and interfere with schooling and education,” and “campus protests that have happened recently for a few weeks” “are not a fundamental threat to our democracy” and 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump’s behavior around January 6 is “a far more significant issue than the ongoing current focus on whether or not, on a few campuses, either rioters — protesters exceeded what was expected of them in terms of the balance of free speech and action and whether or not police response was overly heavy-handed.”
Coons stated, “[I]n the United States, we respect free speech. It’s important that people of all ages and backgrounds are able to express their political views, particularly on something that’s become as contentious as the war in Gaza. But when that free speech borders over into violence and intimidation, when students can’t go to campus classes or participate in graduation without physical violence, without threats and intimidation, that that’s wrong. And so, many have spoken out about it. I think that’s the right balance to strike in a country that’s committed to free speech and where there were protests on many campuses that were peaceful, but, in recent days, we’ve seen, in a few cases, those protests become violent and interfere with schooling and education, frankly, in some cases, requiring school administrations, college administrations to call in local police forces.”
Host Kasie Hunt then asked, “Senator, do you think that reality of what’s going on, the pictures, the way it’s unfolding, does that help Donald Trump’s election chances in the fall?”
Coons responded, “Look, there is a sharp contrast between what Donald Trump says every day about his willingness to respect the election, how he views the January 6 riot that stormed the Capitol, his intention to release those who’ve been convicted of rioting and of insurrection and of an assault on police, as opposed to campus protests that have happened recently for a few weeks. They are not a fundamental threat to our democracy. Donald Trump is the only President in the last century who’s, in any way, encouraged violence related to our politics, that threatened to overturn the results of an election. That’s a far more significant issue than the ongoing current focus on whether or not, on a few campuses, either rioters — protesters exceeded what was expected of them in terms of the balance of free speech and action and whether or not police response was overly heavy-handed.”
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