Former President Trump posted a campaign ad on his Truth Social site praising various counter protestors on college campuses, including students who held up the U.S. flag.
“While colleges work to control their students, at UNC Chapel Hill, they are restoring order,” the video starts.
The ad displays scenes of pro-Palestinian students protesting nationwide. Then it shows images and videos of students at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill who displayed the American flag at their campus’ protest.
Pi Kappa Phi fraternity members were captured in viral posts holding the American flag as activists threw objects at them. The incident occurred Tuesday, when pro-Palestinian supporters replaced the American flag with a Palestinian flag.
The incident resonated with people across the country, and a GoFundMe was set up to support the fraternity’s event. It’s raised over $500,000 so far, including a $10,000 donation from billionaire investor Bill Ackman.
The ad continued, blending news segments from Fox News and “Primetime with Jesse Watters,” where they reacted to the students who protested.
The ad stated the students “stood strong” despite being “pelted with bottles and rocks.” It referred to the UNC fraternity brothers as the “most popular college students” and said they were “patriotic” for defending the American flag.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre praised the group’s actions. She said all Americans have the right to peacefully protest, but it’s not right to forcefully take down the American flag and replace it with another one. She said it was “admirable” to protect the American flag.
The UNC protest is one of many happening on college campuses across the country. Students are calling on their universities to divest from Israeli companies or companies that supply weapons to Israel in its war with Hamas.
Despite many protests remaining peaceful, a growing number of demonstrations have been met with counter protestors who support Israel.
