When Joe Biden delivered what was effectively his farewell speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), he once again repeated a debunked allegation targeting former President Donald Trump. Most Americans are familiar with the story. In Charlottesville, VA, in 2017, rival demonstrators clashed over the removal of a Confederate statue. One protester was killed. Trump later said there were “very fine people” on both sides of the confrontation. Since then, Democrats have falsely claimed Trump was describing neo-Nazis as very fine people. But, at DNC 2024, thousands of protesters - many with a very sinister agenda - have faced no condemnation from convention speakers. Not only that, but Biden created his own “very fine people” moment as he addressed attendees on the first night.
It is, of course, not uncommon for politicians and journalists on either side of the political divide to connect all kinds of dots – however tenuously – to throw shade on their opponent or the opponent of their preferred candidate. It's a game of guilt by association: Candidate X says something complimentary about some individual or group known to have a vague or distant connection to someone with an apparently nefarious, dangerous, or offensive agenda. Candidate X is, then, in cahoots with the bad guys.
In the Charlottesville case, among those protesting the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue were groups that could certainly be described as white supremacist or neo-Nazi. The then-president's detractors decided to conclude that Trump was, therefore, referring to these extremists as “very fine people.”
The full context of Trump's remarks was deliberately ignored. In fact, he pointed out to reporters that not everyone who was angry about the statue being removed was a neo-Nazi or a white supremacist. Some of them were just ordinary folks (the “very fine people”) dismayed that a historical monument was going to be taken down and that the park in which it stood was about to be renamed. The 45th president explicitly called out the white supremacists and the neo-Nazis as bad people who should be absolutely condemned.
DNC Silence on Protests Implies Sympathy
Some elected Democrats have publicly and very directly condemned the anti-Jewish pro-Hamas demonstrations that have shaken the United States since Israel struck back at the terrorist group for its murderous Oct. 7 rampage last year. DNC 2024 would have been the perfect event at which Democrats could have come together and soundly denounced anti-Semitism, political violence, and, more specifically, sympathizing with a terrorist group that identifies as an enemy of both Israel and the United States.
Clearly, though, this is not the consensus among either DNC attendees or speakers. What does this unwillingness to stand up against the anti-Semitic mob signify? Does it stem from fear of stirring more violence, fear of losing their votes in the upcoming election, or is it because some Democrats are ideologically aligned with those demonstrators taunting them at their own convention? Perhaps, to a certain extent, it's a blend of all three, but one can only speculate.
There is a deception, however, being perpetrated by many prominent Democrats and by their supporters in the media. The protesters are being portrayed as merely anti-war, and their agenda is nothing more than a cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip to preserve innocent lives.
The reality is something entirely different. Among the Palestinian flags, Hamas flags have been photographed. At least a few of the demonstrators have openly expressed not just anti-Israeli but anti-Jewish sentiments. “From the river to the sea” has been spotted on banners at some of these protests. That slogan has only one meaning: Israel should not exist at all.
Biden’s Charlottesville Moment
So, when Biden told his audience that the anti-Israel demonstrators outside the DNC “have a point,” perhaps someone should be asking him what legitimate “point” he thinks they have. Do they have a point when they express support for a terrorist organization? Perhaps they have a point in calling for the destruction of Israel. Or maybe Biden simply meant they had a point when they demanded an end to the current conflict. Likely, the ousted chief executive would claim that's what he meant – if he were called upon to defend the remark, which he probably won't be.
Still, there's an interesting comparison here to Trump's Charlottesville moment. Biden's critics will no doubt be accused of taking his words out of context. Yet it remains a fact that a proportion of the demonstrators outside the DNC are anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish, and pro-terrorist. They are the same type of people who openly celebrated when Hamas slaughtered more than 1,100 people in October of last year. Biden thinks they have a point. What is there to take out of context?
As a unified gathering, the DNC could have taken a stand against the mob. Most of America would have applauded. Only the most extreme progressives and Muslim fundamentalists would have been upset. But, as a party and as a convention, the Democrats chose not to do that. Their silence betrays sympathy with the protesters’ cause – and if that is not the case, then convention-goers must be so wrapped up in their Kamala Harris lovefest that they have entirely lost sight of what is really important to Americans.
