02b U.S. Politics – Progressive

Jamaal Bowman’s big problem? It’s not AIPAC.– www.politico.com

pgnewser June 21, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.politico.com

NEW ROCHELLE, New York — The New York Democrat running to unseat Rep. Jamaal Bowman has an unusual double advantage against the incumbent: local political clout and the backing of a national pro-Israel group.

And it’s Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s ties at home — even more so than his position on the war in Gaza — that could deny the Squad member a third term.

Latimer has picked up endorsements from fellow local leaders week after week — including the mayor and three City Council members in Yonkers, where Bowman lives. And while just 10 percent of Bowman’s campaign contributions come from his neighbors, more than half of Latimer’s donations come from within the district.

Latimer may not have any national name recognition compared to Bowman — who has built his reputation in Congress as a left-wing agitator for sweeping change nationwide — but he enjoys a different kind of celebrity. He’s the Cher of Westchester County, known as just “George” to many in the suburban enclave north of New York City thanks to his 35 years in state and local government.

Fani Willis Appears to Fire Back at Rudy Giuliani’s “Ho” Attack – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser June 17, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.motherjones.com

Mother Jones; Robin Rayne/ZUMA; Matt Rourke/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Last Friday, my colleague Stephanie Mencimer had the distinct honor—or misfortune—of witnessing Rudy Giuliani’s apparent attempt to convince the Christian right to help him amid his dire financial troubles. That effort saw Giuliani airing crude, conspiratorial rhetoric before the faithful which at one point, saw Giuliani calling Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney in Donald Trump’s Georgia case, a “ho.”

Now Willis is responding, condemning the conservative critics who have relentlessly targeted her since she took on Trump’s Georgia election interference case. While speaking to leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia, Willis appeared to single out the former New York City mayor’s denigrating remarks. She declined to call out Giuliani by name, but the subject of her remarks was evident.

Learning the Right Lessons From the UAW Loss in Alabama– www.thenation.com

pgnewser May 22, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.thenation.com

Mercedes put on an “A-level boss fight.”  Which was only to be expected. So how can the union win next time?

Mercedes employees Austin Brooks, David Johnston, and Jacob Ryan attend a rally in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on May 5, 2024. (Kim Chandler / AP Photo)

Late last Friday afternoon, Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, addressed workers at the Mercedes SUV plant in Vance, Alabama, after the union failed in a representation election (2,054 votes in favor, 2,642 against) many had expected them to win. He told them, “Justice isn’t about one vote or one campaign. It’s about getting a voice, getting your fair share.”

House GOP leaders plan to whip Garland contempt vote– www.politico.com

pgnewser May 22, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.politico.com

House GOP leaders will begin whipping their Republican members on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt this week, according to two Republicans familiar with the matter, amid some skepticism they can get the near-unanimity required to pass it on the floor.

With Republicans expecting no help from Democrats, Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) is expected to begin gauging if they can keep intra-party opposition to near zero, according to the two Republicans, who spoke on condition of anonymity. One of those Republicans said the whip effort could begin as early as Wednesday.

Two contempt resolutions against Garland passed out of the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on a partisan basis last week, leading to a highly contentious hearing in the latter panel last Thursday that involved name-calling and alleged drinking.

Michael Cohen’s Testimony Reveals the Sad Life of a Trump Toady– www.thenation.com

pgnewser May 14, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.thenation.com

Trump’s former lawyer described in court how the former president demands total sycophancy from his underlings.

Michael Cohen, former president Donald Trump’s former attorney, arrives at his home after leaving Manhattan Criminal Court on May 13, 2024, in New York City.

(Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)

The third week of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan kicked off with the testimony of a familiar Trumpworld figure: former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen. Cohen’s turn on the stand has been hotly anticipated since the trial got underway last month, since he’s able to directly confirm key details in the prosecution’s case, chiefly concerning the logistics of the payoff to former porn star Stormy Daniels in order to suppress her story of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

Biden Takes Action To Protect American Workers And Businesses From China– www.politicususa.com

pgnewser May 14, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.politicususa.com

President Biden is taking action to protect American jobs from Chinese cheating in markets like steel and semiconductors.

The White House announced via a fact sheet:

Today’s actions to counter China’s unfair trade practices are carefully targeted at strategic sectors—the same sectors where the United States is making historic investments under President Biden to create and sustain good-paying jobs—unlike recent proposals by Congressional Republicans that would threaten jobs and raise costs across the board. The previous administration’s trade deal with China failed to increase American exports or boost American manufacturing as it had promised.

Under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs have been created and new factory construction has doubled after both fell under the previous administration, and the trade deficit with China is the lowest in a decade—lower than any year under the last administration. We will continue to work with our partners around the world to strengthen cooperation to address shared concerns about China’s unfair practices—rather than undermining our alliances or applying indiscriminate 10 percent tariffs that raise prices on all imports from all countries, regardless whether they are engaged in unfair trade. The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes the benefits for our workers and businesses from strong alliances and a rules-based international trade system based on fair competition.

Stephen Colbert Calls Out Trump’s Weird Hannibal Lecter Obsession– www.politicususa.com

pgnewser May 14, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.politicususa.com

Colbert said:

Oh, I love “Silence of the Lamb.” It’s one of my favorite movie, right up there with “Star War,” “Dance with Wolf,” and “Jaw.” 

Colbert played Trump saying:

“Silence of the lambs”? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’s a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. But Hannibal Lecter, congratulations, the late, great Hannibal Lecter.

Colbert responded,  “Late, great? In none of the stories does Hannibal Lecter die, and Sir Anthony Hopkins is very much still alive. Does Trump just think a character dies when he turns off the TV? “Well, another great episode of Wheel. Rest in peace. The late, great Pat Sajak. We’ll always remember how much you loved the alphabet. Congratulations. You are dead.”

Since Paris, Banks Have Channeled $6.9 Trillion to Fossil Fuel Firms – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser May 14, 2024 0

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The world’s big banks have handed nearly $7 trillion in funding to the fossil fuel industry since the Paris agreement on carbon emissions, according to research.

In 2016, after talks in Paris, 196 countries signed an agreement to limit global heating as a result of carbon emissions to at most 2°C above preindustrial levels, with an ideal limit of 1.5°C to prevent the worst impacts of a drastically changed climate.

Many countries have since promised to reduce carbon emissions, but the latest research shows private interests continued to funnel money to oil, gas, and coal companies, which have used it to expand their operations.

Eight in 10 of the world’s most eminent climate scientists now foresee at least 2.5°C of global heating, according to the results of a Guardian survey published last week—an outcome expected to lead to devastating consequences for civilization.

A Gay Couple Is Suing New York City Over IVF Denial – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser May 9, 2024 0

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The city of New York is discriminating against its gay male employees by denying them the same health care benefits as women and straight men, a new lawsuit alleges. Under the city’s insurance, employees are entitled to coverage for up to three rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in their quest to have children—that is, unless they are gay men.

In a class action lawsuit filed Thursday, which appears to be the first federal case specifically about gay men’s access to IVF, a former city employee and his spouse claim that by denying them benefits available to all other employees, the city is engaging in discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation. Nothing else, they argue, explains why they were treated differently.

“There is no legitimate, non-discriminatory explanation for why the City’s healthcare plan would offer IVF benefits when the male plan participant’s partner is female but withhold IVF benefits when the male plan participant’s partner is male,” the complaint, filed in federal court in New York, states.

House GOP chairs lash out at Biden over pause in Israeli arms shipment– thehill.com

pgnewser May 9, 2024 0

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The top House Republicans with oversight of U.S. foreign and military affairs slammed the Biden administration on Wednesday for pausing a shipment to Israel of an estimated 3,000 heavy bombs.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) said the administration was weakening Israel’s position in the face of threats from Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“We are appalled that the administration paused crucial arms shipments to Israel,” the Republican House chairman wrote. “The administration must allow these arms shipments to move forward to uphold the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and ensure that Israel can defend itself and defeat Hamas.”

The Biden administration confirmed in recent days that it had paused a shipment of thousands of heavy bombs to Israel. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller explained that the administration’s actions relate to concern over Israel’s military operation against Hamas in the southern Gazan city of Rafah and the worsening humanitarian crisis.

Trump Is Scared That He Will Be Put In Prison For “A Long Period Of Time”– www.politicususa.com

pgnewser May 9, 2024 1

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Excerpt from www.politicususa.com

Trump posted on his social media platform complaining that his free speech rights have been taken away and that he could be put in prison for a long period of time.

Trump posted on Truth Social:

It is a really bad feeling to have your Constitutional Right to Free Speech, such a big part of life in our Country, so unfairly taken from you, especially when all of the sleazebags, lowlifes, and grifters that you oppose are allowed to say absolutely anything that they want. It is hard to sit back and listen to lies and false statements be made against you knowing that if you respond, even in the most modest fashion, you are told by a Corrupt and Highly Conflicted Judge that you will be PUT IN PRISON, maybe for a long period of time.

This Fascist mindset is all coming from D.C. It is a sophisticated hit job on Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME!. Judges Engoron and Kaplan, also of New York, are equally Corrupt, only in different ways. What these THUGS are doing is AN ATTACK ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, AND OUR ONCE GREAT NATION ITSELF. OUR FIRST AMENDMENT MUST STAND, FREE AND STRONG. “GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!’

Trump is going full martyr here, as he is afraid of being put in prison, but he also thinks it will help him politically. What he doesn’t seem to understand is that getting locked up won’t help him at all. Incarceration would only confirm for the majority of Americans who already hold the belief that Donald Trump is a criminal.

Donald Trump repeats inaccurate claims on economy in local news interview in Pennsylvania– www.politifact.com

pgnewser May 9, 2024 0

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Former President Donald Trump repeated a bevy of inaccurate claims on the economy during an interview with WGAL-TV, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, television station.

Here is a rundown.

Trump policies “created the greatest, strongest economy in the history of our country, probably in the history of the world.”

Economists have previously told PolitiFact that this is False.

The strongest evidence in favor of this assertion, at least in the U.S. context, is the unemployment rate. On Trump’s watch, the unemployment rate fell to levels untouched since the early 1950s.

However, the annual increases in gross domestic product — the sum of a country’s economic activity — were broadly similar under Trump to what they were during the final six years under his predecessor, Barack Obama. And GDP growth under Trump was well below that of previous presidents.

Trump says the FEC saw no merit in Stormy Daniels-related case. Here’s why that’s misleading.– www.politifact.com

pgnewser May 9, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.politifact.com

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, saying Bragg  brought forward the case against him after other investigative bodies passed.

In remarks to reporters after court May 6, Trump also singled out the actions of the Federal Election Commission and the U.S. attorney’s office in New York’s southern district.

“The FEC said they threw it away,” Trump said, referring to the Federal Elections Commission. “They said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ Southern district didn’t bring the case. Nobody brought the case and then Alvin Bragg brought the case.”

Trump said Bragg brought the case “when I am running and leading” in the polls. He said, “They all want to keep me off the campaign trail.”

Biden Regs Officially Add $1 Trillion Burden to Economy

pgnewser May 8, 2024 0

The American Action Forum (AAF) has calculated that President Joe Biden’s regulation changes and executive orders have cost the American economy an additional $1 Trillion, an investment that, the report claims, fails to deliver results that justify the cost increase. Dan Goldbeck, AAF’s director of regulatory policy, stated, “This past week, the final rule cost total for just 2024 can now be measured in 13 digits. While no rule matched the singular impact of the prior week’s EPA rule – because, really, what could? – this was also one of the more prolific weeks in recent memory.”

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Excerpt from lidblog.com

Joe Biden has been the worst president in history where it comes to adding new regulations to burden Americans and has slammed us all with a massive $1 TRILLION in new regulations and rules… yes, just as the economy is already doing so badly, he is trying to hurt it even more with oppressive rules.

Per American Action News:

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final emissions regulations for light- and medium-duty vehicles, which some have characterized as an electric vehicle (EV) mandate, pushed the costs of the Biden administration’s regulatory agenda over the $1 trillion threshold for 2024, alone, according to AAF’s analysis. Across all agencies and regulatory actions last week, the federal government published regulations imposing $103 billion worth of total costs and 11.6 million annual paperwork hours.

Dominion still has pending lawsuits against election deniers such as Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell– www.cnn.com

pgnewser May 8, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.cnn.com

Reporters and members of the public outside of the Leonard Williams Justice Center where Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News in Delaware Superior Court today in Wilmington, Delaware. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A last-second settlement has been reached in Dominion Voting Systems’ historic defamation lawsuit against Fox News, the parties announced Tuesday in court.

“The parties have resolved their case,” Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said.  “Your presence here… was extremely important. And without you, the parties would not have been able to resolve their situation,” the judge told the jurors, before dismissing them.

The settlement was apparently brokered while the trial was on the brink of opening statements in Wilmington, Delaware.

After swearing in the jury earlier Tuesday, an unexplained hours-long delay paused proceedings in court, which yet again triggered rampant speculation that a deal was quietly in the works.

Dem NY Gov. Kathy Hochul Says ‘Young Black Kids’ Don’t Know the Word ‘Computer’– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser May 8, 2024 0

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Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) believes that “young black kids growing up in the Bronx don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is.”

“They don’t know,” she added. “They don’t know these things.”

This condescension toward black people has always simmered just beneath the surface of the Democrat Party (the party that fought a Civil War to hold onto their slaves, and then created the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow, and segregation). But earlier this month, it bubbled and then burst to the surface through Hochul’s ignorant and racist mouth.

You can watch the full video of her appearance at the “Milken Institute Fireside Chat” here. Her racist remarks are heard at about the seven-minute mark… Afterward comes my favorite part… Watch as Hochul, after spewing racism, is allowed to go on without being challenged by the event moderator, the far-left Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart. He’s such a good dog, he allows a white woman to get away with a blatant act of racism without challenging her, pushing back, or even mentioning it.

What Happened When Stormy Daniels Finally Met Trump in Court – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com

pgnewser May 8, 2024 0

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The first criminal trial of a former US president is underway, with Donald Trump facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments allegedly made in 2016 to cover up an affair he had with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Here’s the latest—the key updates and absurd moments—from the historic trial.

Stormy Daniels, the porn star actress whose sexual encounter with Donald Trump is at the center of the former president’s hush-money trial, took the witness stand on Tuesday, offering lurid testimony about their relationship.

Daniels told the jury that Trump had said he and his wife, Melania, do not sleep in the same room. And that the former president compared once compared her to his daughter, Ivanka. “She’s smart and blonde and beautiful and people underestimate her as well,” Daniels recalled Trump telling her.

After Disastrous Day In Court, Trump Demands Campus Protesters Be Arrested– www.politicususa.com

pgnewser May 8, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.politicususa.com

Donald Trump had a very bad day in court on Tuesday, so after his trial ended for the day, he claimed that campus protesters are Biden plants and called for their arrest.

Trump said, “It’s Biden backers that seem to be funding the, what’s going on with the Palestinians.
They probably not Palestinians, They are agitators, they agitators really bad. And I think our government ought to find out who they are where they’re from and treat them the same way as they do the J6 hostages. You got to treat them the same way. These are agitators. They’re really hurting our country. It’s happening all over the country and cities.”

Video:

Letitia James Sues Pregnancy Centers Over Abortion Pill Reversal Claims– dailycaller.com

pgnewser May 7, 2024 0

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Excerpt from dailycaller.com

Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York sued multiple crisis pregnancy centers on Monday over their promotion of the abortion pill reversal.

James targeted 11 crisis pregnancy centers in the state, accusing them of “misleading” pregnant women about whether medication abortion can be reversed, according to the court filing. James claimed that the centers, along with organization Heartbeat International, engaged in “deceptive acts or practices” and “false advertising.” (RELATED: NRA Scores Court Victory Against NY AG Letitia James)

“Abortions cannot be reversed. Any treatments that claim to do so are made without scientific evidence and could be unsafe,” James said in a Monday press release. “Heartbeat International and the other crisis pregnancy center defendants are spreading dangerous misinformation by advertising ‘abortion reversals’ without any medical and scientific proof.

Heartbeat International highlights on its website 17 cases from its “Abortion Pill Rescue Network,” which connects women who have taken an abortion pill with a medical provider to begin the reversal process.

Was This a Biden State Department Briefing or a Hamas Press Conference?– townhall.com

pgnewser May 7, 2024 0

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After Hamas terrorists agreed to a “softened” version of a ceasefire deal that is an unserious, deceptive ploy aimed at delaying Israel’s looming offensive in Rafah, the State Department refused to directly comment on the terms (pending a U.S. review) to which Hamas had agreed — but again insisted that the Biden administration’s “top priority” is to reach a “ceasefire agreement that will lead to the release of hostages” and allow a “surge of humanitarian assistance” into Gaza.

Note the subtle but significant rhetorical difference between a ceasefire that releases hostages and a ceasefire deal that will lead to the release of hostages. They’re not the same, and the Biden administration knows that.

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday that the Biden administration previously “made clear” to Hamas that it should “accept the offer” repeatedly made by Israel in recent weeks — the ceasefire offers so far rejected by Hamas while its U.S. based supporters in the halls of Congress and encampments on university grounds continue chanting “CEASEFIRE NOW.”

Seeming to put on his Hamas apologist hat, the State Department’s Miller then complained that the Biden administration has “not seen” a “humanitarian plan that is credible” or “implementable” for Israel to launch a military offensive to root out Hamas terrorists in their final stronghold of Rafah near the border with Egypt in Southern Gaza.

According to the State Department, “a military operation in Rafah right now would dramatically increase the suffering of the Palestinian people” and “would lead to an increase in loss of civilian life.” Never mind, apparently, the reality that Israel’s prosecution of the war started by Hamas on October 7 has seen IDF operations protect civilian lives on a level unseen in recent conflicts — including those in which the U.S. military is a belligerent.

DOJ Tampered With Evidence In Trump Documents Case– thefederalist.com

pgnewser May 7, 2024 0

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Special Counsel Jack Smith admitted federal prosecutors tampered with evidence in his criminal case alleging former President Donald Trump mishandled classified documents.

According to a Friday court filing, prosecutors said documents the FBI seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence are no longer in the same order in which they found them, and some are mislabeled and may even be misplaced. A government “filter team” that dealt with the boxes once the FBI took them “was not focused on maintaining the sequence of documents within each box,” the special counsel’s office wrote in the filing.

Later the filing says, of early inventories and scanned records of the seized document boxes, “Because these inventories and scans were created close in time to the seizure of the documents, they are the best evidence available of the order the documents were in when seized. That said, there are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans.” A footnote on this last sentence says: “The Government acknowledges that this is inconsistent with what Government counsel previously understood and represented to the Court.”

The filing also suggests the Department of Justice and FBI may have lost and mislabeled some of the documents. When the agencies first took the documents at Mar-a-Lago, government employees used many blank sheets of paper as substitutes and cover papers for what they decided might be classified documents.

After the FBI brought the document boxes to Washington DC, federal employees and contractors began replacing these “handwritten sheets” with proper classified document covers. At that point, the filing says, “In many but not all instances, the FBI was able to determine which document with classification markings corresponded to a particular placeholder sheet.” This indicates the special counsel’s office disclosed it isn’t sure whether some it lost or mislabeled some of the allegedly classified documents it seized in the Trump raid.

Maxine Waters: Trump Supporters Are ‘Training Up in the Hills Somewhere’ to ‘Attack Communities’ If Biden Wins– slaynews.com

pgnewser May 7, 2024 0

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Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has appeared on national television to promote wild conspiracy theories about President Donald Trump’s supporters.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Waters claimed that Trump supporters and “right-wing organizations” are currently “training up in the hills somewhere.”

According to Waters, they are preparing to launch an “attack” against “communities” if Democrat President Joe Biden beats Trump in the November presidential election.

85-year-old Waters warned the show’s viewers that “we better be careful about” Trump, who she claims is planning to unleash “violence” against the public.

The congresswoman made the comments during a discussion about the Democrats’ favorite fearmongering narrative.

According to Waters and the Left, Trump won’t accept the election result if he doesn’t win, just like Hillary Clinton in 2016.

“This is a man we better be careful about and I’ll tell you what I’m going to do, I’m going to ask the Justice Department and I’m going to ask the president to tell us what they’re going to do to protect this country against violence if he loses,” said Waters.

Biden has no plans to visit campus Gaza protests despite urging from Democratic ally– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser May 7, 2024 0

 

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Excerpt from www.washingtonexaminer.com

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there are no plans for President Joe Biden to visit any of the pro-Gaza protests taking place at universities across the country despite calls for him to do so from several lawmakers, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).

Khanna said during a Sunday interview with CBS that Biden “should and will get out there on campuses” after condemning escalating violence at some protests while simultaneously calling for empathy for the people of Gaza. Lawmakers from both parties, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), have visited campuses amid the protests.

Jean-Pierre faced several questions about the protests during Monday’s press briefing, during which she continued that line of rhetoric.

Pressed on Columbia University’s decision to cancel its 2024 commencement ceremony following the on-campus protests, Jean-Pierre declared that “vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, [and] forcing the cancellation of classes” do not mark peaceful protests, as the president had urged.

“It is unfortunate that a small group, a small group of people, went too far and cost their classmates this important event,” she added.