White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if President Joe Biden believes pro-Palestinian protesters are extremists.
The question from Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy came following recent pro-Palestinian protests
Look at this news article from The Daily Caller: ’Are They Extremists?’: Doocy Asks KJP If Pro-Palestine Protesters Are Held To Same Standard As ’MAGA’ Republicans https://t.co/UhvgxIv5zY
— a "Backwoods" Conservative 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@BackwoodsGOP) October 31, 2023
“What I can say, is we’ve been very clear on this. When it comes to antisemitism, there is no place,” Jean-Pierre said, switching the issue to antisemitism among some conservatives.
“We have to make sure that we speak against it very loud, and be very clear about that. Remember, when the president decided to run for president, is what he saw in Charlottesville in 2017. He saw neo-Nazis marching down the streets of Charlottesville with vile antisemitic … just hatred, and he was very clear then, and he’s very clear now," she added.
Jean-Pierre refuses to call anti-Israel protestors ‘extremists’ despite fear among Jewish students https://t.co/6JGsdxnNaj pic.twitter.com/SQbzou6x2h
— New York Post (@nypost) October 31, 2023
She also turned the question to former President Donald Trump's so-called Muslim travel ban.
“I have been very, very clear. We are calling out any form of hate, any form of hate. It is not acceptable. It should not be acceptable here. And we are going to continue to call that out,” she said, again refusing to say whether the protestors were “extremists.”
“And let me be very clear: This is a president that has continued to have that fight in his office, in this administration. You know, when he repealed Trump’s Muslim ban on his very first day in office. That is something that this president did,” she continued.
While the press secretary may claim to oppose hate, she also failed to condemn pro-Palestinian protesters in the U.S., including on college campuses and in a recent ceasefire protest that led to arrests in the Capitol Building.
The contrast appears to leave open support for some forms of hate over others despite Biden's current support of Israel's self-defense.
The questions didn't go well again for the press secretary but instead chose to avoid answering the tough issue of how the Biden administration should deal with pro-Palestinian protesters in the U.S.
