Tipsheet

Biden's DNC Speech Catering to Pro-Hamas Agitators Puts Fellow Dems in a Tricky Spot

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 20, 2024 8:45 PM

On Monday night, as Matt and Katie covered, President Joe Biden gave a rambling speech during the first night of the DNC. That may be the last we see of him at the convention where he was supposed to be nominated, but improvised comments of his about pro-Hamas agitators looking to cause chaos at the DNC have had a lasting effect. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), who is Jewish, has been asked about the president's remarks, and it doesn't look like he had the easiest time coming up with a response. 

"Those protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides," Biden claimed at one point. These are the same agitators who have rioted in the streets of Chicago, have clashed with police, and broke through the barrier fence at the first night of the DNC, when security looked to be particularly lacking. 

On Tuesday morning, Shapiro was asked by Jewish Insider's Josh Kraushaar about Biden's remarks, specifically about if the pro-Hamas agitators "have a point."

Shapiro, who was at one point surely looking like Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate before Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) was picked, claimed "I haven't heard specifically what they've said," as he claimed "I'm not trying to duck your question." There has been speculation that Shapiro wasn't picked due to his Jewish faith, despite how he toned down his pro-Israel views in the days leading up to Harris' announcement earlier this month. 

He then went on to speak about the First Amendment rights of protesters, though these folks have gone above and beyond what is protected by their free speech rights. 

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"I think protesters absolutely have a right to have their voices be heard. Whatever the rules of the road are. The mayor of Chicago, I assume he sets that.  They gotta follow the rules, but their voices should be heard and they should be encouraged to exercise their first Amendment rights. Whether I agree with them or not is beside the point. I think it is important that we be a party that welcomes perspectives from all different walks of life, from all different areas, and I look forward to hearing their perspective," he offered. 

Later on Tuesday, Kraushaar shared an article he wrote about how the governor, "Shapiro equivocates when asked whether anti-Israel protesters 'have a point.'"

As he wrote:

CHICAGO – Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro equivocated when asked whether anti-Israel protesters in Chicago “have a point” — an argument that President Joe Biden made in his convention address that drew widespread applause from the Democratic convention crowd.

...

Shapiro’s decision not to specifically condemn the anti-Israel activists, some of whom have chanted antisemitic slogans at their rallies — underscores how delicate the issues of Israel and antisemitism are within the Democratic Party. In April, Shapiro spoke out against antisemitic harassment at anti-Israel campus protests, comparing that extremism to “people dressed up in K.K.K. outfits or K.K.K. regalia.”

Left-wing detractors pointed to Shapiro’s remarks as a main reason for Vice President Kamala Harris not to choose Shapiro as her running mate. He lost out to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has been less critical of the anti-Israel activism in his home state.

Shapiro's failure to condemn the pro-Hamas agitators stook in stark contrast to how another Jewish Democrat, Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, regarded the situation. 

Schneider's framing is problematic in another way, though:

Shapiro’s carefully crafted remarks contrasted with another leading Jewish Democrat — Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), who spoke on a panel at the American Jewish Committee breakfast Tuesday morning. Asked about the growing acceptance of anti-Israel radicalism within the Democratic party, Schneider wasted no time characterizing the protesters as part of a radical fringe.

“The challenge is we have a lot of loud voices. I’ve had them outside my home at 2:30 in the morning. I’ve had them outside my office. They scream and they yell,” Schneider, who represents the nearby Chicago suburbs, told the crowd of about 100 attendees.

“What they’re really calling is for the elimination of Israel and the extermination of the Jewish people. In the American body politic, they are a minority, they are wrong, and we have to call them out as such.”

It's hard to claim these folks are "part of a radical fringe" when Biden, Harris, and others in the Democratic Party are desperate to cater to such agitators. Part of the disarray comes from those in the party who took issue with the idea that Shapiro looked to be Harris' pick. 

Although Biden only lost the American Samoa in the 2024 primary, the next highest vote getter after him was "uncommitted," with many anti-Israel, pro-Hamas forces looking to punish the president for what support he and the Biden-Harris administration have dared to show Israel after the October 7 attack. 

Shapiro was on the list to attend a DNC event for Orthodox Jews, but, per The Daily Wire's Kassy Akiva, did not end up attending. Shapiro, however, was present at the DNC for the ceremonial roll call to cast Pennsylvania votes for Harris. This comes after the DNC already held a virtual roll call vote earlier this month, and despite how Harris didn't win a single primary vote. 

As Akiva, Kraushaar, and others shared over X, Jewish events were infiltrated by those looking to harass Jewish attendees. 

Many have been quoting Biden's ad-libbed remarks when sharing photos and footage of pro-Hamas agitators looking to cause trouble outside and even inside the DNC, including that same event.