Six months before the election, the president selected a list of awardees heavy with political allies like Nancy Pelosi, James E. Clyburn and John F. Kerry.

Joe Biden condemned violence, destruction and antisemitism on college campuses while defending the right for pro-Palestinian protesters to peacefully demonstrate.

As pro-Palestininan protests explode at colleges across the nation, Biden has largely stayed quiet about the issue. He is yet to address the protests in a speech and has not given any public remarks in more than a week.

President Joe Biden said he would defend the right to peacefully protest on college campuses but drew a line against violence following a wave of demonstrations at US universities against Israel’s war in Gaza and his handling of the conflict that have threatened his reelection prospects.

Republicans are seizing on campus turmoil from New York to California as they attack Joe Biden for failing to quell the protests over Israel’s war in Gaza and portray America as spiralling out of control under the US president’s leadership.