Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy recently engaged in a verbal exchange with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during her daily briefing. Doocy accused President Joe Biden of being “MIA” on the anti-Israel protests that have been occurring on college and university campuses across the country.
These protests, which have escalated in violence and have involved students setting up encampments to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and the severance of ties between their schools and Israel, have led to law enforcement intervention in several states. At Columbia University in New York, for example, NYPD officers cleared an administrative building that protesters had occupied as part of their demonstration.
Doocy questioned why President Biden has remained largely silent on these anti-Israel protests, a claim that Jean-Pierre denied. She pointed out the president’s history of speaking out against antisemitism and expressed her belief that his stance on this issue is not indicative of any particular concern about losing the youth vote.
When Doocy attempted to interrupt, Jean-Pierre insisted on completing her response, highlighting various policy actions taken by the president which she believes are popular among younger Americans. These include Biden’s student loan giveaways and his administration’s efforts to address climate change.
Doocy also inquired as to whether President Biden is seeking an investigation into possible foreign support for “agitators” involved in the campus protests. New York City Mayor Eric Adams attributed much of the heightened tensions during these protests to “outside agitators” and expressed his intention to look into whether they have backing from foreign influences.
Jean-Pierre responded by stating that state and local police would be handling such investigations but added that the Justice Department and the FBI would offer assistance if necessary. She emphasized that the DOJ and FBI are already providing support to universities and colleges with respect to federal laws, but ultimately left it up to local law enforcement to investigate reports of possible foreign involvement in these campus protests.
