Last month, we covered Mitch Landrieu's appearance on CNN who was trying to sell Joe Biden's reelection campaign, specifically his economic plan. Landrieu also delved into how it should supposedly be "obvious" that the deeply unpopular and divisive president is "bringing people together." They keep sending Landrieu out there, as the senior presidential adviser and campaign co-chair again went on CNN to talk to host Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."
Tapper started off by pointing out how Biden's remarks from last Thursday came a week-and-a-half after the rabbi at Columbia University told Jewish students it wasn't safe for them on campus, with Tapper also noting "and only then after pressure from Republicans and even some Democrats."
"Why? Why did it take so long? If this moment called for clarity, why was it so slow and coming," he asked.
Landrieu started off by noting "Well, first of all, the First Amendment is critically important," though we are past the point of free speech rights and peaceful protests. Yet that was what Landrieu wanted to focus on. "The president has always believed that people ought to have the opportunity to redress their grievances against their government. This is not something new. It's been going on since the beginning of our time. You see different campuses handling this in a different way. And, finally, you see some campuses doing this better than others," he went on to offer.
Landrieu also raised a point we've heard ad nauseam from both the Biden White House and his campaign.
"The president has been very strong about this from the beginning. And the president came out the other day. And, as he said, as he has always said, he understands that people have a right to protest, but they have to do so peacefully. But when it turns violent, that's when things have to end. You're going to have a university president on after you have me on, and they're going to continue to work through this," Landrieu added.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been in particular a repeat offender when it comes to claiming Biden is "very clear," similar to how Landrieu claimed the president "has been very strong about this from the beginning." Just recently, during Monday's press briefing, she made such a claim, even though she couldn't speak to metro police not responding to calls from George Washington University President Ellen M. Granberg for them to step in and do something about the pro-Hamas activity there, right in Biden's backyard.
Tapper did not indicate whether he found Landrieu's response to be an acceptable one or not, but rather moved on to discuss "some pretty ugly antisemitic incidents" at Tulane University in New Orleans. Landrieu was the mayor of the city from 2010 to 2018. Tapper also referenced reports, which Guy covered on Monday, that it's Biden donors funding the anti-Israel, pro-Hamas, antisemitic protests going on. POLITICO framed the development as a "surprise," but so many of us know better.
"Should they stop funding these groups? Are they causing unrest for the American people," Tapper aptly asked.
Landrieu yet again brought it back to the right to protest. "Well, let me say this. I think that everybody, as the president has said, needs to kind of get focused in on the very core principles of what our Constitution allows and what our Constitution protects," he offered, not at all answering the question.
As Landrieu continued speaking, not only did he still not answer the question, but he was rather equivocal in his response, as he also brought up Islamophobia.
"And that is this. Everybody has a right to protest, but they have to protest peacefully. If they're protesting violently, that has to end. There's no place for that. There's no place for antisemitism. There's no place for Islamophobia. Everybody has got to really get close to that, understand that, and continue to act in accord with that," he said, just as Biden and others in his administration have said.
.@jaketapper pushes Biden campaign co-chair @MitchLandrieu over Biden's response to campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war: "If this moment called for clarity, why was it so slow in coming?" pic.twitter.com/sPhVrIvKGO
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 5, 2024
As the segment continued, Landrieu also downplayed the warnings from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who has been especially critical of Israel, that the pro-Hamas student protests are like the protests against the Vietnam War, with President Lyndon B. Johnson even choosing not to run for reelection.
"Well, first of all, I think comparing it to Vietnam is an over-exaggeration. This is a very different circumstance," he offered, before he then also tried to sell Biden to young voters, a demographic he is faring very poorly with and even losing to former and potentially future President Donald Trump, according to some polls.
Tapper also had former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) on the program, who now serves as the president of the University of Florida.
When discussing how he himself is "a First Amendment zealot," Sasse brought up that "we protect their right to do that. But we have rules. And one of those rules is, we don't allow camping on campus. And so you can't start to build an encampment. But our goal is not to arrest people. It's to help them get into compliance with the rules. They can protest. They can try to persuade people. But they don't get to build a camp. Nobody--nobody else does either," he said when it comes to those rules that must be followed.
Tapper and Sasse also discussed the demands of such pro-Hamas agitators. While some university administrations have been caving, Sasse pointed out "we just don't negotiate with people who scream the loudest," as "that just doesn't make any sense to me."
He again drew the proper distinction between free speech and following the rules. "We believe in the right of free speech. We believe in the right of free assembly, and you can try to persuade people. But what you see happening on so many campuses across the country is, instead of drawing the line at speech and action, a lot of universities bizarrely give the most attention and most voice to the smallest, angriest group," he explained, making clear "and it's just not what we're going to do here."
As Sister Toldjah at our sister site of RedState covered, Sasse also penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on the topic.
"I think the line is between speech and action."
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 5, 2024
University of Florida President @BenSasse reacts to the campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war in an interview with @jaketapper. pic.twitter.com/e3L3wTKKfJ