Biden gets mild applause but no jeers in commencement speech describing ‘heartbreaking’ situation in Gaza

ATLANTA — President Joe Biden decried the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza while delivering a commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday that featured mild applause but no interruption.

Speaking before the historic Black, all male college, the president addressed head on the Israel-Hamas war that is causing campus strife across the country.

He told graduates and alumni that he was pushing for “an immediate ceasefire” to “stop the fighting" and "bring the hostages home.” He called for a “two state solution” and deplored the violence on Oct. 7. “I support peaceful nonviolent protests. Your voices should be heard and I promise you I will hear them,” he added, noting that his own family members were angry and frustrated over the situation too.

Biden has grown accustomed to being confronted by protesters criticizing his support of Israel. But there was intense anticipation for the speech at Morehouse, as it was the first time he ventured onto a college campus — which have become the epicenter of pro-Paletinian protests and the site of tense, occasionally violent confrontations.

The day featured its moments of political expression. DeAngelo Jeremiah Fletcher, the class valedictorian, used part of his speech to call for a permanent ceasefire, earning a standing applause from parts of the crowd. Biden himself clapped. A select number of students turned their back on the president. Some walked out when Biden was presented with an honorary degree. Many kept their heads down as he spoke and declined to stand or applaud.

But there were no fireworks or even memorable disruptions, allaying fears from Democrats that the ceremony would have produced a politically embarrassing scene.

The president, wearing a Morehouse-maroon graduation gown and tie, dedicated much of his speech to talking about the threats to democracy and the challenges that Black men in America face. He spoke of the “poison of white supremacy” and the need to root out systemic racism. He talked about investing in black communities, reducing Black child poverty, removing lead pipes, connecting communities torn apart by racist infrastructure projects and even expanding access to high speed internet. His nod towards pushing for student debt relief got the biggest applause.

But perhaps the main thrust of the speech was autobiographical. Biden ticked through his own story, from his home state’s tortured history on civil rights to his early career interest in the movement. He talked about the bust he keeps of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oval Office. He spoke of his son Beau Biden’s death and how it inspired him to keep involved in public service. And he brandished his credentials: his service as the vice president to the first Black president, his appointment of the first Black vice president and his nomination of the first female Black Supreme Court Justice.

“I’ve got more Morehouse men in the White House telling me what to do than I know what to do with,” Biden joked.

“I have no doubt that a Morehouse man will be president one day,” he later added, before nodding to his VP, Kamala Harris, a Howard alumna. “Just after an AKA from Howard… She’s tough, guys.”

The crowd, having sat there relatively staid, gave him a rare laugh.

The speech was a difficult threading of the needle for Biden, whose team had been paying close attention to the slate of pro-Palestinian protests across the country. Those protests have been more muted at historically Black colleges and universities compared to other schools. But the administration still took steps in the lead up to Sunday to avoid public embarrassment.

A White House official said that Biden has touched on current events in past commencement addresses and that it made sense for him to talk about Gaza on Sunday. Ahead of the speech, the official said that the White House solicited input from a wide range of people, including Morehouse alumni.

When Harris was in Atlanta recently, she paused to ask the Morehouse student government president about campus reaction to Biden’s visit. Steve Benjamin, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, was dispatched to Morehouse earlier this month to meet with students and faculty. And when Biden touched down in Atlanta on Saturday, a group of prominent Morehouse alumni were waiting on the tarmac to welcome him. He spent the afternoon meeting with Morehouse students and alumni at Mary Mac’s Tea Room in downtown Atlanta, a local Southern eatery also owned by a Morehouse graduate.

Biden’s Morehouse address comes as polls show his support softening among Black voters. Some prominent Black Democrats close to the White House had hoped that the president could use the Morehouse speech as a moment to recommit to engaging with Black voters, who were critical in delivering Biden the White House in 2020.

As president, Biden has emphasized the importance of HBCUs. His administration has invested more than $16 billion in HBCUs, which the White House says is the most by any administration.

But Biden’s standing among young voters has also been deeply impacted by a variety of issues. Some of it has related to his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, where he has been largely supportive of the Israeli government until recently warning against a full-scale invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. But much of the anger and antipathy young voters have towards the president is due to issues like inflation, according to public opinion polls.

Speaking about the conflict in the Middle East, Biden offered his reflections on leadership to the graduating class. Leadership, he said, was sometimes about “doing what’s right even when it’s hard and lonely” and “fighting through some of the most intractable problems.”