It took pro-Hamas activists breaking into and occupying a building at Columbia for the White House to finally issue a statement condemning this madness.

Here’s the news:

“President Biden has stood against repugnant, Antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life. He condemns the use of the term “intifada,” as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days. President Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful. Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful – it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.” -Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates

Notice the statement wasn’t issue by Joe Biden, but rather his deputy press secretary. It would carry a lot more weight if Biden issued it himself, but he is trying to walk the line of condemning the protests without losing votes considering how much electoral trouble he’s in.