Trump: “LAW & ORDER, NOT DEFUND AND ABOLISH THE POLICE”

President Donald Trump on Monday took to Twitter to oppose suggested defunding of police departments.

“Defund the Police”

Trump supported law enforcement on Monday, as well as stating his opposition to the “defund the police” movement, which has begun gaining traction in some cities and communities, as protests over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer continue across the country.

LAW & ORDER, NOT DEFUND AND ABOLISH THE POLICE. The Radical Left Democrats have gone Crazy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 8, 2020

Trump and his campaign are tying the defunding movement to Joe Biden’s campaign, in an effort to portray the former Vice President as weak on crime, and although Biden has not embraced the slogan yet, he tweeted photos Sunday of him joining a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Washington.

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said that the “Defund the Police” has been growing in Biden’s party, adding that many police organizations have begun noticing that Biden is moving further left to appease “radical elements,” leaving them “abandoned” by the Democrat.

The “Defund the Police” movement itself calls for cutting funding for police departments and shifting it towards programs related to economic and social problems that directly affect people of color. Those supporting the movement, however, could be subject to a storm of attacks, as the movement brings to mind the idea of abolishing police.

The movement gained traction in Minneapolis on Sunday, as a veto-proof majority of the City Council vowed to “begin the process” of dismantling its police force, although it’s unclear how that could be done, or what would replace the force.

Biden showed his support for those marching against police brutality and racism, even proposing an overhaul of police tactics. Despite that, he has not said whether or not he supports the defunding movement, as his criminal-justice reform plan calls for a $300 million investment in community-oriented policing.

In some of his promises of what would be done first if he takes the White House, Biden said that he would create a national police oversight commission, as well as urging police departments to update their training and hiring process to identify problematic officers and ban the use of violent tactics in order to deal with “bad cops” more “severely and swiftly.”

House and Senate Democrats are due to introduce a bill that includes some of the former VP’s proposed reforms, as well as curb the practice of “qualified immunity” for police activity, opening the door to more civil lawsuits over misconduct.

Surveys by Yahoo News and YouGov also show bipartisan support for reforms in the police, as almost nine in 10 Americans support training officers on ways to de-escalate conflicts and avoid the use of violence.

Despite the ongoing situation, very few elected Democrats have voiced support for defunding the police, although the movement is seemingly growing amid social unrest over the murder of George Floyd and the last two weeks of protests in relation to the case.