President Biden spoke quickly to the press about the pro-Palestine protests that have taken over college campuses. But while Biden covered the basics — how Americans have a right to protest, but not protest violently, how antisemitism is bad, and how the rule of law should be upheld — did he go far enough? Glenn and Stu don’t believe so. Biden had an opportunity to make a real impact, but instead, he said enough to save his own skin and satisfy some supporters…and he also threw in a few lines to pander to the violent mobs...
TranscriptBelow is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: Can we pull one of these?
BIDEN: Must be upheld. We're not an authoritarian nation. Where we silence people and squash dissent. The American people are heard. In fact, peaceful protest is the best tradition of how Americans respond to conflict issues. But -- but neither are we a lawless country. We are a civil society, and order must prevail.
Throughout our history, we have often faced moments like this, because we are a big, diverse, free thinking and freedom-loving nation. In moments like this, there are always those who rush in to score political points. But this isn't a moment for politics. It's a moment for clarity. So let me be clear: Peaceful protests in America, violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is.
It's against the law, when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and ground school. None of this is a peaceful protest.
Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It's against the law.
Dissent is essential to democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder or to deny the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education.
Look, it's a basically a matter of fairness. It's a matter of what is right.
Does the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos.
People have the right to get an education. The right to get a degree.
The right to walk across the campus safely without fear of being attacked.
Let's be clear about this as well: There should be no place in any campus, no place in America, for anti-Semitism or threats of violence against Jewish students.
There is no place for hate speech, or violence of any kind. Whether it's anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab-Americans or Palestinian Americans. It's simply wrong. There's no place for racism in America. It's all wrong.
It's un-American.
I understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions, and in America, we respect the right and protect the right for them to express that. But it doesn't mean anything goes. It needs to be done without violence, without destruction. Without hate. And within the law.
You know, make no mistake, as president I will always defend free speech, I will always be just as a strong on standing up for freedom of the law. That's my responsibility to you, the American people. My obligation to the Constitution.
GLENN: Oh, my gosh.
BIDEN: Thank you very much.
GLENN: Okay. So there you go. You have Joe Biden doing --
STU: You want to take questions? He might be taking a question soon.
VOICE: Have the protests forced you to reconsider any of the policies with regards to the region?
BIDEN: No.
GLENN: And he walks away.
VOICE: Mr. President, do you think the National Guard should intervene?
BIDEN: No.
GLENN: He's walking away, and the door is closing behind him.
STU: But he's still answering them. No. No.
GLENN: He's just in a -- no. In the hallway. He's in his bedroom. No.
He looks at his wife, she says no. I know. What's happening.
STU: What did you make of that? It was pretty Milquetoast, boring. Not much.
We were talking about this off the air, that he had an actual opportunity here, if he wanted to win over a good chunk of the country, while risking his far left flank, of kind of having the clichéd Sister Souljah moment, who is really harsh against these people are doing what they're doing.
STU: He did not do that. It may have been what he was trying to do. He's seemingly incapable of giving a speech of any value.
That was a -- that was a -- just a -- hey.
GLENN: I think it's enough to satisfy many supporters. We're also at --
STU: What kind of supporters. Like, what group is he targeting that? Like a liberal, maybe Jewish voter?
GLENN: Yeah. And not really.
I think he's kind of pissed off the Jews when he's like, and no place for anti-Semitism.
Or people wanted to hurt Hamas. And Palestinians. And Muslims. And those who are in the Mickey Mouse Club.
STU: Right.
GLENN: The ones who have been raped by the Disney corporation. Which we're totally fine with.
You know, I -- I don't think he -- he reached out to -- to those supporters. But I think he did enough for maybe the average person who is a Democrat. And wants him tolerance the right thing.
What -- okay.
STU: He said, no violence.
He said protests are okay. But no violence. And such. And there's some group, he connects with that. There was a chance for him to really set this issue. Maybe make it a strength, and not a weakness. And he did not do that there. That was -- he could have made a moment of like, look.
These people on these campuses are -- basically, calling them revolting. Passion. Some sort of anger toward the people who are calling for the genocide of Jews. There's none of that. Well, to make sure people can get to classes. You know, everyone has a right to get a degree. Which, by the way, they don't have a right to.
But all of that being said, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen out of his mouth.
At least he didn't have red villain lighting behind him.
GLENN: Well, you know what is great though?
He doesn't need that anymore.
STU: We looked into his character.
It's funny too, he's -- from a dramatic standpoint, you couldn't put Joe Biden in like a dramatic movie. Because he's so bad at these speeches.
Even if he says something evil, you're just like, oh, God. This sucks.
GLENN: I think that we should bring the guillotine back. And we should take all bankers. And we should cut their heads off.
STU: Right. They're so -- there's no emotion.
You go back to the Star Wars, like, you know, this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause speech.
You need to be -- you can't put him in a movie. Everyone would be like, wait. What?
Is he talking about hamburgers? What is he talking?
GLENN: And the rebels are taking our bases, and we must stop for the empire!
STU: Right.
Yeah.
GLENN: And taking -- and we --
STU: Cough three times in the middle of a sentence.
GLENN: My uncle was in a spaceship once. He was flanked by aliens.
STU: And we -- isn't it just -- can we at least agree with this. Democrats, Republicans, everybody across the aisle. This is embarrassing. Can we at least just agree on that point. You can still say his policies are better or whatever. People around him. Making the policies, have a better idea, running the country.
Aren't you just embarrassed by this, day after day after take.
It is utterly depressing. That the country that has led the world out of the lack of Silicon Valleyization has this dolt running it.
It's so pathetic. In every way.
GLENN: So you are -- you're -- you're drawing a lot more out of this speech than I did.
I don't think it was bad. I don't think it was good.
But I don't think -- that's not going to make any impact. One way or another.
STU: I don't know that we disagree. I think he had an opportunity for impact, which he did not take. He could have made it worse. I don't think he did it that. I just think he's such an uninspiring figure. And I'm embarrassed when we're led by somebody like that. When I said led, it's definitely in air quotes there. I don't know the president should be viewed this way. But the way we view the president. He just sucks. It's maybe not even deeper than that.
He just sucks at that. He's not good at thing he does. The job he does, he's incapable of doing.
And that's a little bit frustrating for a world superpower.
GLENN: Yes. Again, now I think you're going too soft.
He doesn't -- he's not just incapable of doing it. The guy is a box of matches, in a fireworks factory.
STU: Yeah.
GLENN: And he's constantly striking himself.
STU: Yeah.
GLENN: What happened?
What happened?
STU: Yeah.
GLENN: He's constantly setting everything on firepower.
STU: Yeah. But I don't think -- that speech didn't strike me as, hey. Keep going protesters. It wasn't that.
GLENN: No. Which again, if he was some ideological maniac, maybe he would have gone that way.
Elizabeth Warren would have done that. Elizabeth wash would have been like, burn these things to the ground.
Probably. I think. He didn't quite do that.
He went out there, with the idea of, people are criticizing me for not saying anything.
I have to say something. I can say, hey, free speech is good. Don't break the law everybody.
But step back, and probably at this point, what is it? 10:00 a.m. dinner.
And then the day is over. That's what it felt like. And that's the way it feels like all the time with this guy, even when he's doing things that are viscerally angry about -- I mean, he's overcoming the entire system of government with things like the student loan plan. And he does it the same way.
He looks as boring and terrible and awful and coughing in the million dollars of sentences. That he does every other speech.
And, you know, watching him.
It's funny too.
Because he's obviously been told. Hey, if you can avoid coughing in the middle of a sentence.
Can you do that?
Multiple times, he went to cough.
He catches himself. And his hand stays a foot away from. He brings it up.
He starts to cough.
He realizes, he's not supposed to do it.
He doesn't have to cough. He's doing it as a tick. I don't know what he's doing -- and he also does this little scratch his face thing in the million dollars. Jews shouldn't be so murdered all the time.
GLENN: You're making fun of --
STU: Whatever the hell he was saying. I don't know. I just feel like it's an embarrassment from beginning to end. I'm sorry, you didn't feel that way. I'm sorry you like President Biden and you will vote for him. That's not how I feel. And I have to express it. As he said, free speech is important.