Former President Joe Biden was helped into a waiting vehicle Tuesday after pro-Palestinian demonstrators threw milk and other objects at him and former first lady Jill Biden outside Trinity College Dublin, Irish media reported.
Two people were arrested by Gardaí at the Dublin university, where the Bidens had attended a ceremony honoring their son, Hunter Biden, with the College Historical Society’s Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution for Public Discourse. According to Irish outlet RTÉ, protesters moved toward the vehicles and threw objects as the Biden family departed through the college’s Front Square.
The protest centered on Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza. Demonstrators confronted the 83-year-old Democrat with chants as he arrived and again as he left the campus.
“Blood on your hands,” protesters yelled, according to TMZ. The crowd also shouted “shame on you” and “Genocide Joe.”
The Journal reported that about six Gardaí moved in to restrain two demonstrators, bringing both to the ground. Video from the scene appeared to show one protester being struck with a baton as officers held him down.
Harper Alderson, editor of Trinity’s University Times, told RTÉ’s Drivetime that police used pepper spray against two protesters.
“The protest grew very large as the cars were moving through Front Square of the college,” she said.
During his acceptance speech inside the Examination Hall, Hunter Biden, who launched a meme cryptocurrency in September tied to the controversy surrounding his laptop, addressed the conflict in Gaza.
“For everyone debating whether to call it genocide, let’s call it mass murder,” Hunter Biden said, describing the situation in Gaza as “absolutely and completely wrong.”
He also defended his father’s approach to the war.
“I know this man, and I know he attempted more than anyone to curtail and stop it,” the younger Biden said.
Joe Biden, seated in the front row, stood and led a standing ovation after his son finished speaking.
In December 2024, shortly before leaving the White House for President Donald Trump, Joe Biden pardoned his son. The pardon covered three felony gun convictions in Delaware as well as Hunter Biden’s guilty plea on federal tax charges in California.
The former president’s memoir, Promise Me, America, is scheduled for release Nov. 17. Biden has said he plans to limit promotional appearances while receiving treatment for prostate cancer. In August, Hunter Biden confirmed that the disease had spread further through his father’s body.
The Journal described the former president as frail and unsteady as he waved to a small group of students while leaving the college.