Before entering the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday, former President Trump criticized the anti-Israel protests that erupted on campus as a "disgrace," while blaming President Biden.
"What's happening at the academic level...at Columbia, New York University and others is a disgrace," Trump said Tuesday morning outside the courtroom. “And it’s really about Biden.”
"He made a mistake. He doesn't know who to support. It's a disaster. And if it was me, they would pick on me, they'd pick on me a lot, but they're trying to understand what what's happening is a disgrace to our country," Trump added. And it's all Biden's fault, and everyone knows it. He is “the worst president in the history of our country”.
Anti-Semitism has surged in recent days on the campuses of some of the country's elite universities, including protesters on the campus of Columbia University claiming that Jewish students were Hamas' "next targets" in amid ongoing protests. More than 100 students were arrested on the campus of Columbia University last week, while dozens more were arrested this week on the campuses of Yale University and New York University. Some students have also set up camps on campuses, demanding that their schools be completely withdrawn from Israel.
A Columbia University rabbi even warned Jewish students not to leave campus due to anti-Semitism, while a university professor told Fox Digital over the weekend that anti-Semitism groups Israelis on campus had transformed into a “real terrorist organization” during recent protests.
Protesters on the Columbia University campus were seen chanting over the weekend: “Qassam, you make us proud, kill another soldier now,” in reference to the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization.
Biden and the White House have condemned the protests, including on Monday when he was criticized for equating anti-Semitic demonstrations with people "don't understand" the Palestinians.
Biden told reporters Monday: “I condemn anti-Semitic protests. That’s why I prepared a program to deal with it. I also condemn those who do not understand what is happening to the Palestinians.
Trump went on to say in his statements Tuesday that Biden was “not a friend of Israel” or the “Arab world.”
Trump said in court Tuesday morning: “It all starts with Joe Biden. The signals he gives are very bad. And I can tell you that he is not a friend of Israel, that’s for sure. neither in the Arab world.
"He wants to compromise. Often it doesn't work, but it certainly doesn't work here. But what he did to Israel was abandon it, and he's trying to be as nice as possible with the other party." Trump continued.
The 45th president is in Manhattan for the second week of his trial, which includes 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The charges were filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in connection with the payment of $130,000 to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election by Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, for hush up his allegations of an extramarital affair. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.
Prosecutors say the Trump Organization compensated Cohen and fraudulently recorded the payments as legal fees. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or cover up a second crime, which constitutes a felony.
The case began in earnest Monday, after the court spent the past week selecting and assigning 12 jurors and six alternates to the panel. On Tuesday, there will be a hearing on the prosecution's request to hold Trump in contempt for violating a silence order, which prohibits him from speaking publicly about witnesses and family members of court officials, as well as the suit from the testimony of the trial's first witness, a former media editor. . David Becker.