'Just Askin'...?': Trump Suggests College Chaos Is Intentional To Divert Attention From The Crisis At The Southern Border

On Wednesday, presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump took to Truth Social to speculate about the motivation behind the recent campus chaos seen nationwide by anti-Israel agitators at universities like Columbia, UCLA, Harvard, and elsewhere. Trump posited that the chaos that has been captivating the American media is possibly an attempt by some Democrats to turn coverage away from the crisis at the southern border.

"Do you think that the Radical Left Lunatics that are causing all of the CHAOS at our Colleges and Universities are doing so in order to take the FOCUS away from our Southern Border, where millions of people, many from prisons and mental institutions, are pouring into our Country? Just askin’…???" Trump wrote.

While Trump may have a point that the chaos on college campuses is distracting from the more important issues unfolding at the southern border, the 45th president has taken time to condemn the demonstrators and call upon Biden to take action. During an interview with Sean Hannity on Tuesday night amid the NYPD's crackdown at Columbia University, Trump demanded that law and order be restored. 

"When you look at New York in a state like this, but look at other cities. It's not a lot different. It's frankly worse in some places than it is right now in New York," Trump told Sean Hannity. "And I think New York City's Finest have been incredible, the way they walked in and climbed through that window. They were not afraid of anything. But it should have never gotten to this, and they should've done it a lot sooner than before they took over the building because it would have been a lot easier when they were in tents rather than a building."

"People have to respect law and order in this country. They don't respect it anymore. The United States, worldwide, is not respected anymore--and we have to gain back that respect from other countries quickly," he said. "Biden has to do something. Biden is supposed to be the voice of our country, but it's certainly not much of a voice. It's a voice that nobody has heard. Look, I don't think he's able to do it. I don't think he's got what it takes to do it, but he's got to. He's got to strengthen up, and he's got to be heard."

After weeks of ignoring the problem, President Biden delivered surprise remarks on Thursday morning where he condemned the college agitators who devolved into violence, emphasizing that the freedom to protest is a fundamental right in America but that vandalism and harassment are not. "Destroying property is not a peaceful protest," the president said. "It's against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation, none of this is a peaceful protest. Threatening people, intimidating people, and distilling fear in people are not peaceful protests. It is against the law."

While Trump and Biden have been outspoken about their position on the ongoing demonstrations, the anti-Israel fervor that has invigorated the young, progressive left will surely come to hurt Biden in the general election. A recent CNN poll found that the president's support among 18 to 34-year-olds has taken a devastating hit from his 2020 campaign, with Trump actually leading Biden by 11 points among the demographic.

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