The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 23rd, 2024: Antisemitism Grips Ivy League Campuses & The Fallout Of Biden's 'Cannibals' Tale

Episode Date: April 23, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    It was a wild night on college campuses across America as anti-Israel demonstrators ratcheted up their activities. We’ll discuss the chaotic scenes and the unprecedented steps school administrators are taking in an attempt to restore order and protect their Jewish students from proliferating antisemitism. We’ll look at the diplomatic fallout between the U.S. and Papua New Guinea after President Joe Biden claimed his uncle was shot down over the Island of New Guinea during World War II and eaten by cannibals. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. It was a wild night on college campuses across America, but not the sort of wild college night you might be thinking of, as anti-Israel demonstrators ratcheted up their activities. We'll discuss the chaotic scenes

and the unprecedented steps that school administrators are taking in an attempt to restore order. Also, we'll look at the diplomatic fallout between the U.S. and Papua New Guinea after President Biden claimed that his Uncle Boise, was shot down over the island of New Guinea during World War II and eaten by cannibals. And a bit of historical knowledge here. It's the first My Family Member was eaten by cannibals story ever told by a U.S. president. But first, our afternoon spotlight.

I want to return to our coverage of the pro-Palestinian protests sweeping America's elite and extremely pricey universities, which further devolved Monday night as Ivy League administrators grappled with what they can do to protect their Jewish students from the proliferating anti-Semitism. Oh, what could we possibly do? After the chaos of the weekend, which we discussed on this morning's PDB, Colombia moved to temporarily cancel in-person classes, fearing an increased risk of anti-Semitic attacks

with the Passover holiday that began Monday evening. Well, now, in a move that would have made Neville Chamberlain proud, Colombia's leaders have since announced they'll be canceling in-person classes at their main campus for the remainder of the semester, opting instead for a fully remote model. Now, many see it as a tacit admission by university administrators that they've completely lost control of their campus and can no longer guarantee the safety of their Jewish community. Students on the ground say the protesters are the ones in charge of Columbia now.

In one example from this past week, an Arab-Israeli journalist who was invited to speak at Columbia by a pro-Israel student group recounted how he was verbally attacked by a group of student protesters chanting intifada and from the river to the sea. When he confronted the group to ask if they knew the implications of their words, much less how to spell them, the group began hurling anti-Semitic slurs and death threats. The decision by Columbia's administrators also comes as some big money donors to the school are withdrawing their financial support over the unchecked anti-Semitism. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who funds Columbia's Craft Center for Jewish student life was the latest on Monday, saying he no longer believes the university can protect the safety

of its students. As we discussed earlier, Colombia became a focal point for pro-Palestinian groups after student activists set up an unauthorized encampment with tents on the campus last week, leading to the arrest of more than 100 protesters last Thursday. The event seems to have inspired activists, agitators, and wannabe Hamas members on elite campuses across the U.S., who took up the cause this week. Nearby on the campus of New York University, police arrested 133 pro-Palestinian protesters Monday evening after they breached barriers at NYU's Gold Plaza and occupied the streets. Officials at NYU said the protesters were engaging in, quote, antagonizing behavior that has interfered with the safety and security of our community, end quote. According to reports,

some protesters even began hurling bottles at police officers who were sent to the scene, but yes, of course, it was a mostly peaceful protest. A spokesman for the school, while condemning the behavior, attempted to link the violence to outside agitators and not the student groups themselves. Meanwhile, at Harvard, administrators have temporarily closed Harvard Yard, the heart of its campus, to prevent the chaos from spreading to their school. Just last Friday, some 200 protesters gathered in Harvard Yard to demand the school divest from Israeli companies and groups in the West Bank.

Harvard also moved to suspend a pro-Palestinian student group, the undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, for the rest of the spring semester, after the group was found to be in violation of university guidelines. By Monday evening, more than 60 pro-Palestinian protesters had been arrested during a demonstration at Yale University, demanding that the school divest from military weapons manufacturers, 47 of those arrested were Yale students.

On the West Coast, California State Polytech University at Humboldt announced Tuesday they were closing their entire campus through Wednesday over safety concerns tied to the current wave of anti-Israel demonstrations, which they called a, quote, dangerous and volatile situation. Meanwhile, at the University of California at Berkeley, protesters have organized what they are calling camp-free Palestine, an encampment similar to the ones set up last week at Columbia, but with juice boxes. Berkeley's administrators seem unbothered by the activity. There's a surprise, but noted they had no plans to cave to divestment demands or otherwise change their investment policies. We should note the above examples represent just a fraction of the events of the past few days as anti-Israel demonstrations sweep through America's cities and college campuses. The discord is making it increasingly dangerous for the Jewish community, particularly inside cities like New York City and L.A. According to the Anti-Defamation League, more anti-Semitic attacks occurred last year than in the past three years combined. Now would seem like a good time for President Biden to use the power of the White House to give a brief Oval Office speech to the nation to condemn anti-Semitism. The White House Deputy Press Secretary did issue a statement the other day, and it was a fine statement, but it guarded almost no attention and, frankly, was a half-hearted attempt.

There should be no moral ambiguity, angst or lengthy deliberation about this from the White House. The president could make a strong statement saying that peaceful protest is absolutely fine, but that there is absolutely no place for anti-Semitism or for threatening, harassing, or violent protest, or the disruption of academic institutions. Look, it's not a tough call, unless, of course, you're overly concerned about upsetting some of your progressive voters. Speaking of the president, coming up after the break, we'll look at the diplomatic fallout in Papua New Guinea after President Biden claimed his uncle was shot down over the island of New Guinea during World War II and eaten by cannibals.

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Biden made this claim twice last week. During a speech on steel and aluminum tariffs in Pittsburgh, which, of course, is the perfect time to bring up Uncle Bozzy, Biden said, quote, he got shot down to New Guinea, and they never found the body because there used to be there were a lot of cannibals for real in that part of New Guinea. End quote.

Biden made a similar suggestion that his uncle had been cannibalized while visiting a war memorial in his childhood hometown of Scranton. But Biden's account of his uncle's death differs from official records. A personnel profile, report by the Pentagon's Defense P.O.M.I.A. accounting agency presents a different scenario. It states that on May 14, 1944, Ambrose Finnegan was aboard an A-20 Havoc aircraft as part of a crew of four on a mission to New Guinea. The aircraft encountered critical engine failures at a low altitude, resulting in the plane's nose striking the water with great force. Sadly, the crash led to the death of three crew members, including Finnegan, while only one crew members survived. The report makes no mention of the plane being shot down or any involvement

of cannibals and indicates that neither the aircraft nor the bodies of the deceased were recovered. When asked about the president's story, White House Press Secretary Kerry Jean-Pierre said Biden was speaking to the bravery of his uncle and the many U.S. service members that put their lives on the line. However, she never actually addressed the president's cannibal claim, which frankly is probably the best way to deal with it. It's like ignoring your somewhat eccentric uncle at the Thanksgiving table when he reveals that he was abducted by aliens back in the 1940s and spent a couple days on a spaceship before being returned to Earth. You just stare at your plate and pretend you didn't hear anything. So well played, KJP. Now, as you might imagine, President Biden's story

was not well received in Papua New Guinea, really? Why would anyone object to being reminded about a slight dabbling in cannibalism? The country's Prime Minister, James Marrape, accused Biden of disparaging his nation, saying, quote, President Biden's remarks may have been a slip of the tongue, however, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such, end quote. According to the White House, a delegation led by Corn Pop will visit with the Prime Minister to smooth over the misunderstanding. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, 23 April.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And be sure to check out our premium membership at PDB premium.com. It's been called pound-for-pound, the finest value in the world of podcast news. At least, that's what my family calls it. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe. Stay cool.