White house Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded to a question from reporters on Thursday about spiking crime by summarizing it as a problem intended for local leaders to solve. She added that President Joe Biden couldn’t possibly stay privy about all the day-to-day actions of law enforcement.
Jacqui Heinrich of Fox News pressed the Psaki further on how high of a priority the President sees crime as a problem in major US cities.
Heinrich prefaced her question by stating the relevancy of President Biden meeting with the Conference of Mayors on Friday. It’d be happening amidst a pair of high-profile deaths: Michelle Go in New York City was pushed onto the subway tracks last Saturday, while Brianna Kupfer was murdered by an alleged career criminal in a Los Angeles store last Thursday.
The suspect Shawn Laval Smith was out on $1000 bail for a previous misdemeanor.
Psaki added that she was on Fox News, Heinrich's network, on Thursday, the day after President Biden’s most recent press conference.
Heinrich followed up by asking about the White House’s position on crime:
"You reiterated the President’s position that he wants to fund police and make clear that crime is something that this White House takes seriously, but you guys have not weighed in on the actions from these prosecutors. So why hasn’t the administration weighed in on some of these new policies from DAs who are downgrading certain crimes or refusing to prosecute certain crimes, given that it could undermine some of these broader efforts that your White House is making to show that it takes crime seriously?"
Psaki’s responded, "Well, one, there’s a law enforcement component, justice component of the federal government. Right? The President has been crystal clear, I think, in almost every time he’s spoken about this, that he believes that more needs to be done by local leaders. We’re going to support funding to ensure they have that. Whether it’s local cops programs, or other programs to support surge response teams, as we’re seeing different kinds of crime in different parts of the country. And that will continue to be what he advocates for."
"But I wouldn’t expect he’s going to comment on, or engage in every local law enforcement action," the Press Secretary concluded.
On Tuesday, New York City mayor Eric Adams confessed he felt unsafe taking the subway in remarks made following the death of Michelle Go. Earlier this month, NYC's new District Attorney Alvin Bragg faced backlash for his sweeping policy changes in how crimes are prosecuted.
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