00:00 You had another school, Columbia University, announced this morning that they're cancelling
00:03 commencement ceremonies.
00:04 I'm wondering if the White House is concerned that the situation on college campuses is
00:09 not calming down, as what the President said last week.
00:11 So I want to quote what the President said from last week, as you laid that out for me.
00:17 And here's a quote.
00:18 "Peaceful protests in America, violent protests is not protected.
00:21 Peaceful protest is.
00:23 It's against the law when violence occurs.
00:26 Destroying property is not a peaceful protest.
00:29 It's against the law, vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses,
00:34 forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations.
00:37 None of this is a peaceful protest."
00:40 And it is unfortunate that a small group, a small group of people went too far and cost
00:46 their classmates this important event.
00:48 We've talked about it many times from here.
00:50 When it comes to commencement day and when it comes to speaking at commencement events,
00:56 this is something that the President has done for some time now.
00:58 And he understands that this is a moment of joy, a moment of celebration.
01:03 And we feel for them.
01:04 We feel for each of the graduates.
01:08 And we're going to continue to reiterate the President's comments and statements and what
01:12 we've said from this podium to call for protests peacefully.
01:18 And that's what we're going to continue to do.
01:19 But we do feel for them.
01:20 These are graduates who are going to miss out on an incredibly important day of commencement.
01:26 Does the White House anticipate any issues or how are you preparing for any potential
01:31 issues when he delivers the remarks at Morehouse?
01:34 So look, I'm not going to get into -- I'm not going to speculate on what might happen,
01:37 might not happen, obviously, when it comes to any type of -- when it comes to events
01:42 and security.
01:43 That's something that Secret Service obviously is going to deal with and figure that out
01:49 on their end.
01:50 But I'm not going to get into -- to speculate from here.
01:53 I'm just going to reiterate what I just said about how the President truly enjoys doing
01:57 commencement speeches.
01:58 He understands how important -- not just for the graduate, but the families and the loved
02:01 ones that are there to celebrate a really, truly important day.
02:06 And so that's what we're looking forward to.
02:08 As you know, the President is also going to go to West Point and honor those who serve
02:14 to protect our country.
02:17 And so -- and we'll continue to do that, obviously.
02:19 And so that's what he's going to look forward to, really being there for the graduates and
02:23 lifting them up in this moment.
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