On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged that the current nationwide crime surge was due to some police departments not having enough funding.
The Biden White House’s take on crime sounds quite different from the far-left of the Democrat Party, which has called for “defunding” the police in many jurisdictions.
Psaki made her remarks during the daily White House press briefing.
WATCH: Jen Psaki admits the “underfunding of police departments” has led to the surge in crime.
Every city that DEFUNDED THE POLICE was led by Democrats. pic.twitter.com/JmPPBcKPuc
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 24, 2022
Psaki: ‘Underfunding of some police departments and their need for additional resources’
Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Psaki, referring to the increasing crime rate, “Does he [President Joe Biden] know that after a year in office people do not feel safe in this country?”
Psaki replied, “Well Peter, I think if we look at the facts here, we have seen a surge of crime over the last two years. Would you agree with that?” Psaki responded. “So what are you attributing the rise of crime to then?”
“Well I think we should be responsible in how we’re reporting to the public what the roles are and what the reasons are for the surge in crime,” Psaki continued. “Gun violence is a huge reason for the surge in crime.”
Then she addressed the “underfunding” of police departments.
“Underfunding of some police departments and their need for additional resources, something the president has advocated for consistently through the course of his career, that’s something we know we need to take action on,” Psaki said.
Psaki said that President Biden has a long history of supporting police funding.
“And it is absolutely true that he will not be satisfied or complacent when officers are being gunned down or when Americans have to worry about whether they can safely ride the subway or bus,” Psaki said.
Psaki says underfunding of police departments is one contributor to the rise of crime in the U.S., but Biden's party has supported defunding the police. pic.twitter.com/EcDb8ueoWM
— MRCTV (@mrctv) January 24, 2022
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Psaki Addresses Rising Murder Rate
“That should not be a political issue,” she added.
Unfortunately, it is a political issue. The White House has tried to blame Republicans and even the Trump administration for “defunding” police.
Something even the Washington Post fact-checkers gave three Pinocchios. One such claim was that Republican opposition to last summer’s nearly $2 trillion COVID bill was “defunding” the police.
To his credit, Biden has so far rejected the calls from the far-left to literally defund police departments in favor of social workers and other leftwing idea, but that didn’t stop his spokespeople from trying to play politics with the issue to blame Republicans.