Top Democrats, Republicans Unite in Opposing Calls to Defund Police
Top Republicans and Democrats expressed bipartisan opposition in recent days to the idea of defunding local and state police forces across the nation.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump oppose the idea, which has been promoted by far-left Democrats including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
Trump said: “There wont be defunding. There wont be dismantling of our police. Theres not going to be any disbanding of our police.”
Biden said in an interview with CBS: “No, I dont support defunding the police. I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness.”
Republicans, including Trump, were quick to call out the Democrats after far-left progressives promoted defunding the police. The issue, which is opposed by most voters, was already distracting from and could eventually overshadow the police reform package introduced by Democrats on June 8.
“Sleepy Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats want to DEFUND THE POLICE. I want great and well paid LAW ENFORCEMENT. I want LAW & ORDER!” Trump wrote in a tweet on June 7.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) likewise rejected the idea, which appears to have broad support by both violent extremists and the peaceful protesters involved in the nationwide demonstrations following the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“The funding of police is a local matter, as you know. From the standpoint of our legislation, were not going to that place. What were doing is talking about how we change policy to make our policing more just,” Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC.
“If peaceful protesters rightly do not want to be lumped in with a subset of looters and rioters who seek destruction, then the vast majority of police officers cannot be lumped in with the very worst examples of heinous behavior,” McConnell said on June 8.
“But instead were already seeing outlandish calls to defund the police or abolish the police take root within the left-wing leadership class.”
Other Democrats and Republicans also oppose the idea.
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) told CNN that she doesnt “believe that you should disband police departments.”
“But I do think that in cities and states, we need to look at how we are spending the resources and invest more in our communities,” Bass said, before pivoting to the substance of the police reform bill.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote on Twitter, “Democrats calls to defund or disband the police are asinine and would end up killing many Americans if enacted.”
Protesters in Washington painted the sidewalk not far from the White House with the words “Defund the Police,” next to the words “Black Lives Matter,” which was a mural authorized by Mayor Muriel Bowser. The official website for the Black Lives Matter organization issued a call on May 30 for a “national defunding of police.”
In Minneapolis, the movement to defund the police is gaining traction. Nine of the Minneapolis City Councils 13 members have pledged to dismantle the citys police department. Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison promised that the council would “dismantle” the department; the citys mayor was recently jeered for opposing the idea.
Rep. Omar, whose district covers all of Minneapolis, said the citys police department should be scrapped because it “is rotten to the root.”
“I will never stop saying not only do we need to disinvest in police, but we need to completely dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department,” Omar said.
The movement to defund the police started in the wake of Floyds death in police custody. The officer who pinned Floyd to the ground with a knee on his neck faces second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. Three of the other officers involved were indicted on lesser charges.
The ideology behind the movement alleges that police departments across the nation are systematically racist.
In a question-and-answer session on Reddit on June 8, Kailee Scales, the managing director for Black Lives Matter, said that “the call for defunding the police force is based in simple facts.” She then claimed that “modern-Read More From Source
