Live Update
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
White House: Biden believes in free speech, debate on US college campuses

US President Joe Biden speaks at the North American Building Trades Unions 2024 Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP)
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says US President Joe Biden believes free speech, debate and nondiscrimination are important on college campuses, as anti-Israel protests spread on US college campuses amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
In a statement marking the upcoming Passover holiday earlier this week, Biden slammed “harassment and calls for violence against Jews” amid intensified protests at Columbia University as “blatant antisemitism.”