Trump tells donors the student protesters are part of a “radical revolution” and vows to defeat them.
Former US President Donald Trump promised he would crack down on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses if he won the vote. 2024 US presidential election.
Earlier this month, the likely Republican nominee told a small group of mostly Jewish donors that he would expel student protesters, who he said were part of a “radical revolution,” from the United States. he was elected, according to one report. report by the Washington Post published Monday.
“If you get me elected, and you really should…we’re going to set this movement back 25 or 30 years,” Trump said, according to the report, citing people at the meeting who spoke undercover. of anonymity. .
The former president also praised the New York Police Department for emptying the Columbia University campus in late April, and said other cities must follow suit, saying “this has to be stopped now.”
Student protests against Israel’s war on Gaza have rocked the United States in recent weeks, sparking a police repression on numerous campuses and more than 2,000 arrests.
In mid-April, Columbia University saw a solidarity encampment in Gaza, with students urging the institution to divest from businesses associated with Israel. This movement has spread to campuses in California, Texas, and many other states.
University administrators accused pro-Palestinian protesters of using anti-Semitic language and creating a dangerous environment on campus. But the students rejected the claims, which they said were aimed at distracting people from what is happening in the Gaza Strip.
The majority of Americans under 30 want a ceasefire in Gaza, according to a poll.
At the donors’ meeting in New York on May 14, Trump expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue “its war on terror” and outlined his policies toward Israel if elected. He once declared that Israel was “losing the PR war» with his actions in Gaza.
“They are losing the PR war. They lose big. But they have to finish what they started,” Trump said during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
According to the report, Trump did not mention Netanyahu, which caused the Republican’s anger when he acknowledged that President Joe Biden was legitimately elected in 2020.
Israeli attacks on Gaza since the start of the war have left more than 36,000 dead, 81,026 others injured and thousands missing, presumed dead under the rubble. Israel launched its assault on the besieged territory after a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel killed around 1,140 people.
