Joe Biden Went to Trinity College Dublin to Watch Hunter Receive a Medal. Protesters Angry Over His Support for Israel Threw Milk at Him
by Jerome London · Thought CatalogUpdated 4 minutes ago, November 13, 2026
Milk cartons were thrown toward Joe Biden’s car as he left Trinity College Dublin on November 10, while pro-Palestinian protesters chanted “blood on your hands.” Protection officers raised umbrellas, and some were splashed. The former president and his family weren’t hit, and no injuries to them were reported.
Biden and Jill Biden were attending a ceremony honoring their son Hunter. Outside, protesters gathered over Joe Biden’s support for Israel during the Gaza war. Chants could be heard inside the Exam Hall, where Hunter was receiving an award from the College Historical Society, known as the Hist.
The society awarded Hunter its Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse, citing his commentary on American politics and media, addiction and recovery. The Hist said its invitation was to Hunter and that it learned at short notice that his father would attend. Joe sat in the front row and wasn’t a speaker or an award recipient.
A protester also interrupted Hunter’s question-and-answer session. Accounts of the exchange say Hunter stopped Secret Service agents from removing the protester. He called what’s happening in Gaza “mass murder,” said there was “no excuse,” and defended his father, saying he “attempted more than anyone to curtail and stop it.”
As the family departed shortly after 4 p.m., people moved toward the vehicles and milk cartons were thrown at the car Joe was entering. Police later said 3 men had been arrested: 1 in his 50s, 1 in his 30s and 1 in his late teens.
The man in his 50s was charged in connection with a public-order incident; the other 2 were released without charge. Police haven’t identified those arrested as the people who threw the cartons.
The police response also drew scrutiny. Footage showed an officer striking a protester on the ground with a baton.
On November 11, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said it was “extremely concerned” by footage appearing to show an officer kneeling on a protester’s neck or upper back while striking his neck and shoulder with a baton. The council said police force must be necessary and proportionate.
The Hist’s auditor, Jane Freyer, condemned the police actions and said the society would welcome an investigation. Trinity’s students’ union and the national student union called for an inquiry into who brought police onto campus and for the college to revoke Joe Biden’s 2016 honorary doctorate.
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