President Joe Biden's response to the wave of violence across college campuses shows he's trying to cater to the Democrat voters that are pro-Palestinian, said Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., on Newsmax.
"I think that he's got a problem with his base," Burlison said Friday during an appearance on "American Agenda."
"There's a lot of Democratic voters that are pro-Palestinian and he's trying to cater to them while at the same time protect his image amongst the Jewish population, but you can't have it both ways.
"And every time they try to bring some level of equivalent to the Palestinian efforts versus the attacks on Jews, I think that there's nothing to equate these two issues with," he added.
People in Israel "were attacked, raped. There were murders. People were burnt alive in their homes, horrific, barbaric actions were taken. It is not the equivalent. There's no equivalent to what happened."
Biden on Thursday rejected calls from student protesters to change his approach to the war in Gaza while insisting that "order must prevail" as college campuses across the country face a wave of violence, outrage, and fear.
"Dissent is essential for democracy," Biden said at the White House. "But dissent must never lead to disorder."
The president broke days of silence on the protests with his remarks, which followed mounting criticism from Republicans who have tried to turn scenes of unrest into a campaign cudgel.
By focusing on a law-and-order message while defending the right to free speech, Biden is grasping for a middle ground on an intensely divisive issue in the middle of his reelection campaign.
Biden, said Burlison, should stop "trying to create a back channel" to his base, to these pro-Palestinian individuals.
"Those individuals should be protesting what Hamas did," he said.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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