Democratic National Committee communications director Xochitl Hinojosa asserted on “Bill Hemmer Reports” Thursday that Joe Biden “does not support defunding the police” after a law enforcment lobbying group endorsed President Trump’s reelection.
“A lot of people are splitting hairs on this, whether or not he supports defunding the police” host Bill Hemmer asked Hinojosa. “What is the truth about his position?”
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POLICE ORGANIZATIONS ENDORSES TRUMP AFTER BACKING BIDEN FOR VP IN ’08, ’12
“Let me be very clear about this,” Hinojosa emphasized. “Joe Biden does not support defunding the police. And specifically, what he is saying is [that] he wants to make sure that police departments have the tools that they need in order to do their jobs.”
Biden’s campaign has publically come out against the growing “defund the police” movement. But the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said in a recent interview that some funding should “absolutely” be redirected from police budgets.
BIDEN SAYS SOME FUNDING SHOULD ‘ABSOLUTELY’ BE REDIRECTED FROM POLICE
In the same interview, Biden said the use of military equipment by local police forces should be scaled back, and added that some communities view police as “the enemy.”
“He wants to do more to rebuild trust between communities and police departments …,” said Hinojosa, who accused President Trump of not “doing anything to correct” the issue.
On Wednesday, Trump received the endorsement of the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), which praised his “steadfast and very public support” for law enforcement. NAPO did not endorse a candidate in the 2016 election but endorsed former President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Biden in both the 2008 and 2012 elections.
When asked how the NAPO endorsement of Trump would impact Biden’s campaign, Hinojosa said, “I think right now, Joe Biden is making sure that he is someone who is talking directly to Americans about how to keep them safe and making sure we are rebuilding this trust.”
