‘Reverend’ Al Sharpton, host of MSNBC, acknowledged on Thursday that the violent and chaotic protests seen on college campuses are damaging to the Democratic party. He pointed out the hypocrisy of condemning the events of the January 6th Capitol riot, while ignoring similar scenes on university grounds.
Sharpton made his remarks on “Morning Joe” while watching footage of clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and police at the University of California, Los Angeles. Co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough were taken aback by the comparison to the Capitol riot, but Sharpton stood by his statement, saying it’s important for Democrats to maintain the moral high ground.
The co-hosts agreed that the optics of the campus protests are disturbingly similar to those seen at the Capitol on January 6th. Brzezinski noted the irony of universities, places of higher education, tolerating such chaos and violence. Sharpton added that these protests have lost their true purpose and have become more about self-serving actions rather than advocating for the cause.
Sharpton also suggested that the protests have been infiltrated by outside groups and are no longer driven by genuine concern for the situation in Gaza. Scarborough chimed in, saying that some protesters are fueled by anti-Semitic hatred and are targeting Jews specifically.
Trump, speaking at a press conference on Thursday, commended police departments in New York and Los Angeles for stepping in to break up the campus occupations at Columbia University and UCLA. He called the protesters “radical left lunatics” and warned that they need to be stopped before things get worse.
????The Marxists are destroying themselves:
Race-baiting Al Sharpton: “How do the Democrats — how do all of us on that side — say January 6th was wrong if you can have the same pictures going on on college campuses?”
Mika Brzezinski: “Good Lord, don’t make a parallel with January… pic.twitter.com/SlLH9COUxL
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) May 2, 2024
On the same day, President Joe Biden addressed the situation from the White House, condemning the violence and chaos on college campuses. He stressed that while everyone has the right to protest, destroying property and disrupting daily activities is not acceptable. He also acknowledged that these actions are hurting the cause and causing further divisions.
Biden’s comments came after several days of avoiding the issue and only issuing a vague statement about denouncing anti-Semitic protests along with those who don’t understand the situation in Palestine. The White House had released a similar statement earlier in the week, but the president finally took a firm stand against the chaos and violence on college campuses.
Sharpton, along with the co-hosts of “Morning Joe” and even Biden, have finally acknowledged the damage these chaotic protests are causing. They have recognized the impact on the Democratic party and the need to maintain the moral high ground. It is a step towards addressing the issue and finding a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflicts.