Joe Biden Condemns Campus Leftists: Shutting Down Speakers Is ‘Simply Wrong’

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during an event to formally launch the Biden Instit
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

During an event at the University of Delaware this week, former Vice President Joe Biden condemned leftist protesters who derail speaking events on college campuses.

During an event at the University of Delaware this week featuring Ohio Governor John Kasich and Joe Biden, the former vice president addressed protests by leftist students that have shut down conservative guest lecture events around the country.

“How would you encourage people to be more accepting of opposing viewpoints?” a student asked Biden.

“It’s interesting,” Biden began. “When I was coming up through college and graduate school, free speech was the big issue but it was the opposite. It was liberals who were shouted down when they spoke. And liberals have very short memories. I mean that sincerely.”

“I got in trouble as predicted by [John Kasich] because when that first effort at Berkeley broke, I went public and said I thought they were absolutely wrong in denying various people the right to speak,” he added. “Look if your idea is big enough, it should be able to compete. And you should be able to listen to another point of view, as virulent as it may be, and reject it, expose it. The best thing to do is let this stuff be exposed.”

“You should be able to listen to another point of view, as virulent as it may be, and reject it, expose it,” he continued. “The best thing to do is let this stuff be exposed. Don’t be like these other people. Don’t give the Trumps of the world the ability to compare you to the Nazis or you to the racists because you’re doing the same thing. You’re silencing.”

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