This is sorta bizarre, and I don’t know whether this would help or hurt Biden. But the Biden campaign wants Morehouse to shut down commencement if students protest Biden.
The president of Morehouse College threatened to cancel the graduation ceremony if any of the students protested President Biden’s commencement speech.
Ahead of Biden’s planned commencement address this weekend, the president of Morehouse College says he’d cancel the service “on the spot” if students protest Biden’s pandering pic.twitter.com/7J8jPn8dgy
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 16, 2024
You can see the logic, in a way. It would be embarrassing for both the college and the president to have students–particularly students in a demographic that is supposed to be foursquare behind the Democrats (Morehouse is a historically black college)–stage a disruption during the president’s speech.
But practically speaking, would it be more embarrassing to have some students arrested for being jerks and disrespectful than to remove them and allow the president to continue? After all, the overwhelming majority of students will not be disruptive, are willing to endure what will no doubt be a boring and disconnected speech, and certainly want to get their diplomas in front of their families and friends.
So why is this threat out there? It is Biden’s fault. The president is afraid of looking bad, so he wants the kids to lose out on their opportunity to get their diplomas.
Subbing on “The Reidout,” nutty professor Jason Johnson worries about Biden going to Morehouse to speak at commencement, where they may be protests, and bad visuals like black men turning their backs on the president…. pic.twitter.com/Nk9sN0vE1w
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) May 16, 2024
Disrupting speakers is a jerk move. It is an attempt to exercise the heckler’s veto and shouldn’t be tolerated, no matter the speaker. I despise President Biden, but I believe he is due respect when he is addressing an audience. Certainly the students, for whom this will be a once-in-a-lifetime event, deserve to experience it. A short disruption is no reason to cancel the whole thing.
The protests are tantrums and shouldn’t be tolerated in such a setting.
That’s pathetic, meanspirited, and selfish in the extreme. It is also classic Biden, who cares nothing about anybody but himself.
No doubt he will tell tall tales about children rubbing his hairy legs, how his son died in the Civil War freeing slaves, and assure them that his policies will help them buy homes at outrageous interest rates.
If he gets the opportunity. Student protesters are not known for their respect for others. No doubt at least some will try to disrupt the proceedings to get their day in the sun.
The Biden campaign should reconsider this stupid ultimatum. It is possible that the president’s threats to close things down will prevent disruptions, but if not it will be a very bad look and very bad TV to have clips of the president walking off the stage because some 22-year-olds criticized him.
But this is Biden. He isn’t very good at this, is he?