'Confused' Joe Biden wanders off stage before completely botching response to reporters
President Joe Biden marked Earth Day on Monday by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects in the US.
US President Joe Biden became "confused" after speaking on climate change for Earth Day on Monday in Triangle, Virginia.
The president announced $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities - all while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change.
Biden spoke after US Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Ed Markey (D-MA) and US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Monday at the Earth Day event.
After his speech, Biden spoke to AOC, who guided him off stage. Videos posted to social media show Biden looking "confused" as he looks into the forest.
The president also spoke with reporters after getting off stage and made comments on the protests breaking out at college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war.
READ MORE: Faculty 'walk out' of Columbia University after NYPD called on pro-Palestine protests
Biden leans in to chat with AOC — who then guides him off the stage, where he *immediately* gets confused pic.twitter.com/Q6YqFAjFsZ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 22, 2024
When asked if he condemns the anti-Israel protests on college campuses, Biden said: "I condemn the anti-semitic protests and I've set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians."
Then when asked if the Columbia University president should resign, Biden said: "I didn't know that. I have to find out more about it."
The question was asked about the large protests breaking out at Columbia University in New York City, in which the NYPD arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators last week who set up an encampment.
New York's House Republicans have since called on Columbia President Minouche Shafik to "do her job or resign."
WATCH: When asked about anti-Semitic protests on college campuses, Biden says there's very fine people on both sides pic.twitter.com/kyMcgUTNRS
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 22, 2024
Since the arrests at Columbia, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have set up encampments on other campuses in the US, including at the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale University, where several dozen protesters were arrested on Monday morning after officials said they defied warnings to leave.
The developments came hours before the Monday evening start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Shafik said in a message to the Columbia community on Monday that she was "deeply saddened" by what was happening on campus.
“To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,” Shafik wrote.
Protests have roiled many college campuses since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, when militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages.
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