Biden left without an easy solution as campus protests heat up

As protests and attempts to quell them spread from New York to Los Angeles and many states in between, President Joe Biden finds himself caught in a series of political and diplomatic crosscurrents without an easy solution.

As protests and attempts to quell them spread from New York to Los Angeles and many states in between, President Joe Biden finds himself caught in a series of political and diplomatic crosscurrents without an easy solution. He is opposed to lawlessness and the takeover of campus buildings and has strongly condemned dark instances of antisemitism. But he is also mindful of students’ right to protest, even when the anger is directed at his own policies toward Israel. At the same time, he is navigating a highly sensitive moment in the Gaza war, as officials pursue a fresh proposal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. The plan, if agreed to, would result in a temporary pause in the fighting — an outcome some Biden advisers hope could lower the temperature at home. For the president, the dueling domestic and foreign policy challenges have imposed a unique burden six months before the election. It’s a rare moment that puts the demand for strong presidential leadership at odds with empathy, a trademark of his public persona. The Biden campaign is closely watching the protests unfold, particularly those in battleground states, and advisers are keenly aware of the domestic political consequences of the administration’s policy toward Israel but remain hopeful the crisis in the region eases by the fall. “If politics was driving this, the president obviously would have changed course months ago,” a senior Democratic adviser told CNN, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic inside the campaign. “But there is not a simple political solution to this. It’s driven by complex policy decisions without easy answers.”