President Joe Biden is being slammed by critics for his tepid response to both the individual who leaked the Supreme Court opinion showing that the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade radical as well as pro-abortion protesters who marched in front of several Supreme Court justices’ homes this weekend.
On May 2, Politico reported a leaked opinion draft authored by Justice Samuel Alito that showed the high court had voted to overturn Roe and send the topic of abortion back to the states. Since then, there have been a variety of demonstrations, including calls to target justices at their homes.
The Daily Wire previously reported that the pro-abortion group Ruth Sent Us — named for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — circulated maps and coordinates in the general vicinity of homes belonging to Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh and called for protesters to gather there.
When asked for comment on that topic last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to directly condemn it.
“I don’t have an official U.S. Government position on where people protest,” Psaki said during a press briefing. “I want it — we want it of course to be peaceful. … I think we shouldn’t lose the point here: The reason people are protesting is because women across the country are worried about their fundamental rights that have been law for 50 years. Their rights to make choices about their own bodies and their own health care are at risk. That’s why people are protesting — they’re unhappy, they’re scared.”
She also attempted to justify the protests by saying, “Look, I think the president’s view is that there’s a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document.” She added, “We obviously want people’s privacy to be respected.”
Over the weekend, throngs of protesters appeared outside the homes of Roberts and Kavanaugh. There were also several acts of apparent pro-abortion vandalism, including possible arson. On Monday Psaki finally tweeted a comment from the president condemning violence and vandalism.
“@POTUS strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest,” Psaki said. “But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.”
Psaki was ridiculed for the fact that that statement happened after the protesters showed up in front of the justices’ homes.
In response, conservatives slammed the president for failing to issue such a statement before the protests occurred.
“Lol,” Conservative commentator Liz Wheeler replied. “Did polling people hated [sic] when you shrugged off the angry protesters outside Kavanaugh’s house & refused to condemn that kind of intimidation? You didn’t change your mind, you’re just afraid when voters see your real opinions, they’ll be disgusted.”
“Why didn’t you say this BEFORE the protests happened?” Abigail Marone, a press secretary for Josh Hawley tweeted in response. “You were asked last week about these exact protests and you refused to condemn it.”
“Days late Jen Psaki finally had a ‘position’ to share from the President in aftermath of the fire bombing of a pro-life office,” law professor Jonathan Turley noted. “It is long delayed and short on specifics, including any reference to leaking or doxing.”
The Daily Wire also reported that in Wisconsin, vandals set fire to a pro-life clinic in Madison, scrawling on the clinic wall: “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either,” over the weekend.
During her press briefing on Monday, Psaki again refused to directly state whether or not the president condemned the protesters or the draft leaker.
“Well I would say we have been clear, and the president’s position has long been that we should not see protest that takes the form of violence, that takes the form of vandalism, and that threatens anyone,” Psaki responded to a reporter who asked if Biden condemned either the protesters or the leaker. “That has long been his position for his entire career and continues to be his position.”
WATCH: @PressSec again REFUSES to condemn the unprecedented Supreme Court draft opinion leak or the doxxing of justices ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AGtbbGvZlt
— Chad Gilmartin (@ChadGilmartinCA) May 9, 2022
Psaki also said that the administration understands “the passion” behind people who vandalize the Catholic Church’s in support of abortion, while adding such behavior is unacceptable. Her comments can be seen here:
Jen Psaki on pro-abortion activists vandalizing Catholic churches and firebombing a pro-life organization:
“We understand the passion.” pic.twitter.com/ycoIoujJnz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 9, 2022
In all, the Biden’s response has been a day late and a dollar short, as they say. Vandalism has already occurred, the justices have been targeted at their homes, and it doesn’t seem like his administration has any interest in figuring out who leaked Alito’s draft opinion.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.