President Biden, after being interrupted at an event in North Carolina on Tuesday by protesters angry about his approach to the war in Gaza, told the audience that the demonstrators “have a point,” adding, “We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.”
Mr. Biden’s remark, which drew cheers and applause from the crowd at a community center gymnasium in Raleigh, came after the White House and the Biden campaign had spent weeks trying to keep pro-Palestinian protesters away from the president’s events, hoping to keep the spotlight on his domestic agenda.
In Raleigh on Tuesday, more than 200 people invited by the White House attended an event where Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the Affordable Care Act and their administration’s health care record.
The interruption came from a group of about half a dozen people.
“What about the health care in Gaza?” one person shouted, before another yelled it again.
Mr. Biden stopped. “Everyone deserves health care,” he said.
Many people then began calling out at once. Mr. Biden paused for about 15 seconds. “Be patient with them,” he said.
There was more shouting. One person yelled that Mr. Biden was “complicit.” Another said that health centers in Gaza were “being bombed.”
“They have a point,” Mr. Biden said. “We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.”
