Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday pushed back against remarks from President Donald Trump that he supports the nationwide “defund the police” movement, by saying that he wants to “get police more money.”
Former Vice President Biden, 77, made the comments during a virtual fundraiser hosted by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“I dont want to defund police,” Biden said, addressing growing calls from activists and some Democrats to abolish or defund the police.
The movement has intensified nationwide in recent weeks in the wake of protests against police brutality and riots following the in-custody death of black man George Floyd in Minneapolis. Black Lives Matter activists have chanted the slogan or spray-painted it on buildings and monuments in cities across the country.
Bidens campaign and other top Democrats in Congress have previously said police departments shouldnt be defunded. In June, a campaign spokesperson for Biden stated that he “does not believe that police should be defunded,” but instead called for “reform.”
Biden, however, said during a Now This interview last month that he “absolutely” believes that some funding should be redirected from police departments.
“I want to get police more money in order to deal with the things they badly need, from making sure they have access to community policing, that they have also in the departments social workers, psychologists, people who in fact can handle those god-awful problems that a cop has to have four degrees to handle,” Biden said Wednesday.
The president has, in a number of tweets and interviews, said that Biden is in favor of defunding the police.
Corrupt Joe Biden wants to defund our police. He may use different words, but when you look at his pact with Crazy Bernie, and other things, thats what he wants to do. It would destroy America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2020
“Corrupt Joe Biden wants to defund our police,” Trump said on Twitter last month. “He may use different words, but when you look at his pact with Crazy Bernie, and other things, thats what he wants to do. It would destroy America!”
Biden said Wednesday that if he were to win Novembers presidential election, he would enact police reforms during his first 100 days in office. He said he would put together a national police oversight commission which could oversee and consider the reforms.
“Reform means, at least the beginning, banning chokeholds, stopping transferring military Read More From Source
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