Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden tried to make the case that it is President Trump who wants to defund the nation's police departments while he was being interviewed by ABC27.
The Trump campaign has been hitting Biden hard with ads saying the former Vice President is soft on crime and ignoring the riots and unrest the country has been experiencing for the last three months. The riots were in response to George Floyd dying while in Minneapolis Police custody, which has also seen a rise of progressives and Democrats calling for funds to be cut from police agencies or abolished altogether.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris don’t stand with the police. They stand with the criminals bringing violence and destruction to our communities. pic.twitter.com/TudfhUSuz4
— Trump War Room - Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) September 7, 2020
Joe Biden defended violent riots as “peaceful protests.” He stands with the far-left mob, not our wonderful police! pic.twitter.com/Q8Lr029t7e
— Trump War Room - Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) September 5, 2020
"You watch the ads, I’m sure you’ve seen them although a lot of Pennsylvanians are seeing because there’s a lot of ads out there right now. They would say that you want to defund the police, it seems to be trying to frighten some folks, so can you set the record straight on that?" an ABC27 reporter asked Biden.
"I not only don't want to defund the police, I’m the one calling for $300 million more for local police, for community policing. I also think we should add social workers and psychologists to help police on 911 calls," Biden said. "The only person calling to defund the police is Donald Trump. Look at his budget. He calls for cutting police funding for local — state and local help by $400 million. Once again, he’s pathological."
Biden has stated his support for funding to be "redirected" away from police departments, which accomplishes the same goal of defunding law enforcement agencies.
