We reported earlier on how, despite skirmishes with police that included running them and the Secret Service out of Lafayette Square, smoke bombs being set off, a Park Ranger getting assaulted, and monuments being vandalized, police announced that no arrests were made among the pro-Hamas agitators who wreaked havoc outside the White House Saturday.
However, perhaps even more predictable than that happening was how the Biden campaign reacted to what went down.
On MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart,” Biden campaign senior spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod was served up a softball question from Capehart, who wondered about how the protests, which he claimed were merely “calling for a ceasefire” and demanding to halt aid to Israel, were “weighing on” the Biden campaign.
Elrod’s answer was pretty incredible for reasons I’ll explain in just a moment:
“Well, first of all, President Biden certainly – unlike President Trump – supports the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression. So obviously these protesters are exercising their right, and that is their right to do. That being said, we certainly understand it’s a challenge. President Biden is certainly fighting for every vote, he’s not taking anything for granted. But look, this is the freedom that people have, going back to the message of freedom, they have the right to protest, they have the right to speak their mind.”
Watch:
Top Biden campaign spokesman Adrienne Elrod defends the pro-Hamas protesters who vandalized veterans' memorials, intimidated Jews, and mocked law enforcement outside the White House: "That is their right" pic.twitter.com/wObUspySl3
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 9, 2024
That’s interesting because, by my count, Biden and his administration have treated his critics abysmally, referring to anti-Biden/pro-Trump types as “MEGA MAGA extremists” who want to destroy the country.
Among other things that counter the “Biden supports the right to protest” narrative was the Biden admin’s attempts at siccing the FBI on concerned parents who were critical of far-left DEI policies being implemented in public school classrooms.
Further, there were their admitted efforts at suppressing the free speech rights of Americans through Big Tech back channels during the COVID pandemic, which last I checked was not respectful in any way of the First Amendment.
Lastly, this response is particularly fascinating when one considers that Joe Biden launched his campaign off of the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally. Biden issued a blanket condemnation of not just the tiki torchers but those there who were marching peacefully, and spoke nothing of free speech rights at the time he falsely claimed Trump stood in solidarity with white nationalists.
And yet people who openly chanted support for Hamas terrorists Saturday and the murder of Jews and who also scuffled with police get no condemnation. We just get told that they have a First Amendment right to protest, and that Biden “supports” it:
It’s that Democrat privilege thing all over again, and it’s disgusting.