“We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to FUND the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities.”
President Joe Biden was slammed by pundits on both sides of the political aisle Tuesday night after he said "not to defund" police departments across the country, but to fund them. Republicans attacked him for hypocrisy while progressives fumed at him breaking ranks.
Democrats stand for a round of applause as Biden talks about funding the police. pic.twitter.com/2i8cXC6jg7
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial)
During his first State of the Union speech Tuesday night Biden said, "Proven strategies like community violence interruption, trusted messengers, breaking the cycle of violence and trauma, and giving young people some hope."
Biden continued, "We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to FUND the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities."
"Fund them! Fund them!" Biden continued during applause. "Fund them with resources and training! Resources and training they need to protect our communities!"
Biden also mentioned slain NYPD police officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera and added that he met with their families and "…told them that we are forever in debt for their sacrifice, and we will carry on their mission to restore the trust and safety every community deserves."
Don’t retweet this clip of Biden saying he would “absolutely” “redirect” funding away from police departments after he just made an empty promise to do the opposite at his #SOTU
Please don’t RT. Brandon will be very mad.
— Benny (@bennyjohnson)
"So let’s not abandon our streets. Or choose between safety and equal justice. Let’s come together to protect our communities, restore trust, and hold law enforcement accountable. That's why the Justice Department required body cameras, banned chokeholds, and restricted no-knock warrants for its officers."
With all due respect, Mr. President. You didn’t mention saving Black lives once in this speech.
All our country has done is given more funding to police. The result? 2021 set a record for fatal police shootings.
Defund the police. Invest in our communities. https://t.co/t0n0EpHMwd
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush)
Biden’s comments come after two years of Democrats and progressives calling for police departments across the country to be abolished and defunded following the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.
Conservatives criticized Biden for hypocrisy after comments he made calling to defund the police as well as Democrats using the line as a rallying cry in 2020. Many of those attempts to defund the police were successful leading to spiking crime across the US.
POV: listening to Biden declare “the answer is not to defund the police, it’s to fund the police”#SOTU pic.twitter.com/ZegIneiCvU
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter)
The official account for Black Lives Matter posted a pictures of a frowning Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) in response to Biden's statement.
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