On “Meet the Press” this morning (see video, below), Sen. Tim Kaine was asked about protests on college campuses and calls by Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans to send in the National Guard “if this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped.” According to Sen. Kaine:
- “I think calling in the National Guard to college campuses for so many people would recall what happened when it was done during the Vietnam War, and it didn’t end well. The National Guard going to college campuses, Kent State and elsewhere, did not end well. And I think that would be a very, very bad idea. I think there are other ways, using campus security, but also, again, offering students more opportunities to have dialogue that is civil and constructive where people hear one another, that’s by far preferable. So no, I do not think the National Guard is a solution to this.”
- “This is a tough one, because people have a right to protest and make their views known. And almost overwhelming percentages of people do that peacefully, but there are those who intimidate or harass others, there are those who speak in hate speech or anti-Semitism. And so, giving people the latitude to do what they ought to be able to do, and also trying to curb unacceptable behavior, is tough…there’s also some universities that I think are doing this right. And one of the things I think it might be important for the president or maybe the education secretary…to do is hold up some examples of colleges in the country – and I think there are a number of them – where discussions about difficult topics, like Israel and Gaza, are happening, but happpening in a way that really can be a model, where people can express their points of view on tough issues, but not feel intimidated or harassed because of the positions they hold. So I think the president can kind of use the bully pulpit to kind of hold up some good examples, and I would hope that he and other members of the administration might do that.”
- Also: Sen. Tim Kaine says running with Hillary Clinton in 2016 gave him “a PhD in the continuing existence of a double standard for women.”
WATCH: @SenTimKaine: (D-Va.) says the National Guard is not a “solution” to campus protests across the U.S. — and that people would “recall” what happened during the Vietnam War.
“The National Guard going to college campuses, Kent State and elsewhere, did not end well.” pic.twitter.com/eGlCxlApu0
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 28, 2024
WATCH: @SenTimKaine (D-Va.) explains the role President Biden could play in addressing campus protests across the U.S.
“Hold up some examples of colleges in the country … where discussions about difficult topics … are happening in a way that really can be a model.” pic.twitter.com/1fshCgWsnz
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 28, 2024
Sen. Tim Kaine says running with Hillary Clinton in 2016 gave him “a PhD in the continuing existence of a double standard for women.” pic.twitter.com/QHMJ46zPKe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 28, 2024
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