{"id":23172,"date":"2024-01-29T01:24:26","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T07:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=23172"},"modified":"2024-01-29T01:24:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T07:24:31","slug":"biden-is-trying-to-balance-gaza-protests-and-free-speech-rights-as-demonstrators-disrupt-his-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=23172","title":{"rendered":"Biden is trying to balance Gaza protests and free speech rights as demonstrators disrupt his events"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) \u2014 It was President Joe Biden\u2019s first big campaign rally<\/u><\/a> of the year, a chance to spotlight the issue of protecting abortion rights<\/u><\/a>. Instead, at least a dozen times during Biden\u2019s 22-minute speech, demonstrators scattered throughout the audience rose to shout out demands for a cease-fire in Gaza<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His speech in Virginia this past week became a fits-and-starts affair. Over and over, the protesters interjected and were drowned out by audience members shouting chants of \u201cfour more years!\u201d and \u201cJoe! Joe! Joe!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey feel deeply,\u201d Biden said of the demonstrators, who were pulled from the room by security personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Democratic president is increasingly contending with protests inside and outside his events from progressives upset about his administration\u2019s support for Israel in its offensive in Gaza<\/u><\/a>. More than 26,000 Palestinians<\/u><\/a>, mostly women and minors, have been killed in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7,<\/u><\/a> according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>The protests lay bare the tensions Biden is facing within his own party<\/u><\/a> as he struggles with the fallout from his handling of the war while honoring the First Amendment rights of his critics to speak out. Biden\u2019s ability to navigate those crosscurrents will be critical to his reelection effort as he tries to energize Democrats this fall, especially young people who are particularly concerned about the war\u2019s effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Demonstrators disrupted Biden\u2019s speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina<\/u><\/a> earlier this month as the president spoke out against racism, and they turned up at a United Auto Workers gathering this past week in Washington where Biden accepted the powerful union\u2019s endorsement<\/u><\/a>, and at a political event in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor most people, you get very few chances in this life to confront the president of the United States,\u201d said Niki Thomas, a 29-year-old UAW member who yelled for a cease-fire and was dragged from the room during Biden\u2019s speech to the union. \u201cThere was no way that we weren\u2019t going to take that opportunity to speak up for for ourselves, for our members, to get a chance to let the president know how we feel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protesting is an American tradition, and it\u2019s hardly a surprise that a president would see demonstrations on an issue such as the Israel-Hamas conflict. Biden aides and allies say the loud few do not represent the majority who back his policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs it helpful? No. It\u2019s not helpful to the president\u2019s ability to mobilize and coalesce his base,\u201d Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher said of the protests. \u201cBut is it fatal at this point? I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fatal. They have to navigate it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of that navigation, he said, Biden needs to show voters what he\u2019s doing to end the conflict and contrast that with what Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said: that the war should be allowed to \u201cplay out.\u201d The former president also has called for U.S. borders to be sealed from Palestinian refugees.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden and his aides have said they do not want to see any civilians die in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and Biden helped broker a temporary cease-fire that saw critical aid reach the territory and the release of some hostages held by the militants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a visit to Tel Aviv<\/u><\/a>, Biden warned the Israelis not to be \u201cconsumed by rage.\u201d But Biden has also said he believes Israel has the right to defend itself and he has asked Congress for billions to help Israel in its war effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe president is concerned, as I said at the very outset, with the 100-plus hostages,\u201d White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. \u201cHe\u2019s not looking at the clock and the electoral calendar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic voters in New Hampshire\u2019s primary<\/u><\/a> on Tuesday were roughly split on how Biden has handled the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to AP VoteCast. Just 4 in 10 of those who disapproved of how Biden has managed the conflict voted for him. But among those who approve of Biden\u2019s leadership in the Middle East, nearly 8 in 10 voted for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the president handles his vocal detractors is important, too. Those who disrupt his events are typically removed by security or event staff. If someone is considered a threat or becomes violent, they may face arrest. No one has been arrested so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said Biden\u2019s response to demonstrators shows he\u2019s \u201ca president who understands and respects Americans\u2019 fundamental First Amendment rights to peacefully protest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJoe Biden is approaching the situation in the Middle East, not through the lens of politics, but as the commander in chief of this country who was prioritizing American national security and global security,\u201d Tyler said. He said Biden was doing so \u201cwith the empathy and the decency that complex situations demand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a stark contrast, he said, to how Trump handles dissent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2016 campaign, Trump\u2019s rallies occasionally devolved into violence, with demonstrators kicked or punched as they were escorted out, and Trump calling the disrupters \u201cdisgusting\u201d and troublemakers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Trump has faced isolated protests at recent campaign events in Iowa and New Hampshire by demonstrators on climate change and other policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he was interrupted at a rally in Indianola, Iowa, shortly before the state\u2019s Republican caucuses on Jan. 15, Trump taunted from the stage as a protester was quickly removed: \u201cGo home to mommy. Your mommy is waiting. Go home to mommy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, Trump dismissed protesters as \u201cmisguided people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next night, when a protester interrupted his rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump directed from the stage: \u201cYou can throw him out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden has tried to acknowledge and empathize with the concerns of his protesters and move on with his speeches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Biden\u2019s remarks at Mother Emanuel, where nine Black parishioners were shot to death<\/u><\/a> in a 2015 racist attack, he put up his hand to calm the angry crowd as protesters were removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One demonstrator shouted: \u201cIf you really care about the lives lost here, then you should honor the lives lost and call for a cease-fire in Palestine!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden responded: \u201cI understand their passion. And I\u2019ve been quietly working — I\u2019ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One audience member yelled from the pews: \u201cYou\u2019re an understanding person. You\u2019re an understanding person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) \u2014 It was President Joe Biden\u2019s first big campaign rally of the year, a chance to spotlight the issue of protecting abortion rights. Instead, at least a dozen times during Biden\u2019s 22-minute speech, demonstrators scattered throughout the audience rose to shout out demands for a cease-fire in Gaza. His speech in Virginia this past week became […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":23174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1169,23512,8324,7771,1151,2109,1845,1489],"class_list":["post-23172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-biden","tag-cease-fire","tag-demonstrators","tag-freedom-of-speech","tag-gaza","tag-protest","tag-rights","tag-speech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23175,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23172\/revisions\/23175"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}