White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn't have the easiest time discussing matters related to Israel during Friday's press briefing, as Spencer covered earlier. When it comes to the related topic of pro-Hamas chants going on across America, Jean-Pierre response on that topic was also lacking, as she brought up the August 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville.
At Columbia University this week, pro-Hamas agitators were declaring disturbing statements such as "we are all Hamas" and "long live Hamas" in reference to the October 7 attack that the terrorist group perpetrated against Israel. Columbia's President Minouche Shafik just spoke before Congress earlier this week about the rampant antisemitism on her campus, as Madeline addressed.
"I get you don't want to go into specifics, but what does the president think about young people in America, saying things like 'We are all Hamas' and 'Long live Hamas,'" Fox News' Peter Doocy asked about the protest.
"Can--I will say--look, this is a president that has been, uh, since he's been in office, and the reason why he ran has been very clear about what he witnessed in Charlottesville. Let's not forget what we saw the antisemitism, the bigotry, the hate that we saw in the street of Charlottesville, which, as I just stated, was one of the reasons that he decided to run," Jean-Pierre shared, speaking about the event which took place almost seven years ago now.
Further, when it comes to how President Joe Biden has referenced that it was that antisemitic and racist rally in Charlottesville that made him run, he's also had a habit of doing so by referencing narratives that were debunked years ago, specifically that when former and potentially future President Donald Trump said there were "fine people on both sides," he was describing white supremacists and neo-Nazis as "fine people."
In reality, the full context of his remarks shows Trump was very clearly referring not referring to neo-Nazis in such a way. He has also been talking about people concerned with the removal of statutes. Even more damning to such a false narrative is that Trump made clear "I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally--but you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists, okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly."
The truth didn't stop Biden from going with such a narrative in 2020 to win the primary and general election, and it's not stopping him in 2024.
Jean-Pierre also had more to her response, sort of, as she went on to offer without too many specifics that "no president has taken more action to combat antisemitism than this president. And so you know, in our national strategy, we made clear that, when Jews are targeted because of their beliefs, because of their identity, or when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hate--hatred, that is antisemitism, and that is completely, completely unacceptable."
Karine Jean-Pierre invokes Charlottesville when asked about young Americans shouting pro-Hamas chants.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 19, 2024
Q: “What does the president think about young people in America saying things like ‘We are all Hamas’ and ‘Long live Hamas’?”
KJP: “This is a president who has been...very… pic.twitter.com/0YEW65t6sH
It's worth pointing out that Trump has had his own successes combatting antisemitism. In addition to his pro-Israel record, Trump also signed an executive order, supported by the Anti-Defamation League, to address antisemitism on college campuses.
Jean-Pierre has had a habit of weak responses when asked about antisemitism, which even Democrats have criticized. She's also often equated antisemitism with concerns about Islamophobia, as the Biden administration as a whole has done.
These pro-terrorist chants at Columbia aren't the only ones we've heard right here in America as of late. Earlier this month in Dearborn, Michigan, activists chanted "death to America" and "death to Israel." There were also references to "Genocide Joe" about the president, further criticisms of Israel, and chants of pro-genocidal "From the River to the Sea" as well as "Free, Free Palestine" chants. When confronted about that incident at a press briefing, Jean-Pierre offered a generic response that mentioned, in part, "Obviously, we will condemn any violent rhetoric."
KJP on the "Death to America" chants in Dearborn, Michigan:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 9, 2024
"Obviously, we will condemn any violent rhetoric, which we have been...we're very consistent about denouncing that type of rhetoric." pic.twitter.com/0McvpdiFPg