Five Republican presidential candidates participated in a debate Wednesday in Miami to make their case to the American people.
The candidates on the stage made false and misleading claims on a broad range of issues. CNN is fact checking the debate and will continue updating this article.
Fact Check: DeSantis on Biden’s efforts to combat antisemitism on college campuses
During a back-and-forth during the GOP debate on Wednesday about how the candidates would address incidents of antisemitism on college campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Gov. Ron DeSantis said President Joe Biden is combating Islamophobia instead of supporting Jewish students.
“Not only is he not helping the Jewish students, who are being persecuted, he is launching an initiative to combat so-called Islamophobia. No, it’s antisemitism that’s spiraling out of control,” DeSantis said.
Facts First: This is misleading. While the Biden administration announced last week that it is developing a national strategy to counter Islamophobia, the White House already released a national strategy to combat antisemitism in May.
Earlier this week, the Department of Education issued guidance reminding schools that they have a legal obligation to address incidents of both antisemitism and Islamophobia. The guidance specifically said that schools must address discrimination based on race, color, or national origin – including against those who are Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab or Palestinian.
“When it comes to antisemitism or Islamophobia, that has no place on our college campuses or in our schools,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told CNN.
Biden has repeatedly denounced antisemitism, both after the Hamas attack and for years before.
From CNN’s Katie Lobosco
Fact Check: Haley on US troops targeted by…
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