In his brief remarks, Joe Biden said that both free speech and the rule of law must be upheld. But he spent most of his time talking about the rule of law – and about what did not qualify as free speech and expression.

Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses and forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation – all do not qualify as peaceful protest, the president said.

“There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” he said.

Left unaddressed was the reason students across the US have been setting up camps and taking to the streets to demonstrate.

Biden made no attempt to explain or defend his administration’s policies toward Israel and the war in Gaza.

He made no attempt to give the students a reason to stop protesting. He just said that if they crossed the line in their demonstrations, there would be consequences.