Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson slammed the “defund the police” movement on Tuesday. Ahead of a Senate Committee Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, Carson said that defunding law enforcement would hurt minority communities in some of America’s largest cities.
Carson: ‘It will go away, when people have time to think it through and realize how irrational it is’
“Well, it’s low-income communities where the police are needed the most,” Carson said. “Places where there’s a lot of criminal activity, obviously you need to police. So, as usual, when people make decisions when they’re emotional, and they’re angry. They don’t think it through, and that’s what this, it will go away. When people have time to think it through and realize how irrational it is.”
Ben Carson On ‘Defund The Police’ Movement: ‘People Will Realize How Irrational It Is’ https://t.co/wgcQwHU1n6 pic.twitter.com/Gc1Z7xVNUr
— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) June 9, 2020
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“Defund the police” advocates say that minority communities would be better served if funds for law enforcement were redirected toward social services programs.
Carson said, “Social programs are important. And they’re part of the entire system, but they’re not the front line when somebody is committing a crime, that’s just silly.”
In Minneapolis, where George Floyd died at the hands of police, the city council voted, with a veto-proof majority, to defund local law enforcement. Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey opposed the measure.
“I’ll work relentlessly with Chief [Medaria] Arradondo and alongside community toward deep, structural reform and addressing systemic racism in police culture,” Frey said. “We’re ready to dig in and enact more community-led, public safety strategies on behalf of our city. But, I do not support abolishing the Minneapolis Police Department.”
Joe Biden “does not believe that police should be defunded,” a spokesman for his campaign said Monday. The statement comes as “defund the police” has emerged as a rallying cry following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. https://t.co/2ZlOW9YXDZ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 8, 2020
Biden: ‘No, I don’t support defunding the police’
Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has also backed away from the #DefundThePolice hashtag. Democratic Senator Cory Booker said that while he sympathizes with activists, “defund the police” is not a “slogan” he will use.
Cory Booker Reacts To ‘Defund The Police’ Effort: ‘It’s Not A Slogan I’ll Use’ https://t.co/EN5eZXRkIN
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 8, 2020
“No, I don’t support defunding the police,” Biden said during an interview with “CBS Evening News.” “I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness and, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community.”
I can’t believe I have to say this, but do NOT defund the police. pic.twitter.com/eWug4gPXp5
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) June 4, 2020
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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday that President Trump “is appalled by the defund the police movement. And when you think the Left has gone far, and they couldn’t possibly go farther, because we all remember the defund ICE movement, and now they want to defund the police.”
“This is extraordinary,” she added.