Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, progressive Democrats across the U.S. adopted the "defund the police" battle cry as they demanded police reform. It continues even now. For example, Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-Missouri), in a recent interview with CNN's Don Lemon, defended her party's calls for cuts to law enforcement budgets:
Lemon: "Did progressives go too far in hurting Democratic chances in the fall with slogans like 'defund the police'?"
Bush: "No."
Lemon: "If you could do it again, would you still double down or use that slogan, 'defund the police'?"
Bush: "Absolutely. Absolutely."
But while in Philadelphia last week hyping his 10-year budget proposal, President Joe Biden – in another of his attempts to twist the facts – claimed "MAGA Republicans" are calling for defunding the police and the FBI:
Biden: "Well, guess what? They refuse to provide funding that's going to keep communities safe and secure. We talk about crime. My budget invests in public safety. It includes funding for more training, more support for law enforcement at a time when they're expected to play many roles.
"We expect our cops to be social workers, we expect them to be psychologist, mental health counselors …. Departments need more investment in this kind of help."
Randy Sutton, a 30-year veteran of law enforcement and founder of The Wounded Blue, says Biden must think the American people are stupid to buy his lies about Democrats' support for law enforcement. He points out that the progressive element of the party has long talked about defanging the police and replacing them on certain calls with social workers. None of it, says Sutton, really makes sense.
"I don't know what he's talking about – but then again, he doesn't know what he's talking about. That's the reality," Sutton tells AFN. "His Department of Justice has done more investigations into police departments than even under the Obama administration, which was the worst."
President Biden, he concludes, "doesn't support law enforcement whatsoever."
And despite the president's attempt to distance himself from an anti-police rallying cry still found among the party's progressive left wing, the "defund the police" political slogan continues to "haunt" the Democratic Party. That's according to syndicated columnist Carl Golden, who points out that large corporations are opting to move their headquarters out of Democrat-led cities like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York because they can no longer guarantee the safety and security of their employees.
