Biden Mocks Reporter Suggestion His Budget is Response to Republican ‘Soft on Crime’ Criticism
President Joe Biden mocked the suggestion that components of his new budget proposal are a response to Republicans’ “soft on crime” criticisms.
As he has for several years now, the president took pains to distance himself from the “defund the Police” movement when he delivered remarks on his Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Proposal Monday.
Speaking about the budget, Biden said “The answer is not to defund our police departments, it’s to fund our police and give them all the tools they need, training, and foundation, and partners and protectors that our communities need.”
Biden took questions following his remarks, and Washington Post White House correspondent Cleve Wootson asked Biden to drill down on “alternative forms of crime prevention,” then asked a follow-up that the president took exception to:
WOOTSON: On your — on your budget, you’ve said repeatedly at the State of the Union that you are not for defunding the police. I do wonder how much emphasis you think should be put on alternative forms of crime prevention — not just defunding the police, but, you know, crime reduction in communities.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, a significant amount. I’ve laid that out in detail in the budget.
For example, we do know that intervention programs work. We do know that what police need, they — they need psychologists in the department as much as they need extra rifles. They need people who are in the department who can deal with the crisis that the police are going through as well –dealing with their crises, dealing with their mental state and how they’re handling things. They need out — they need social workers engaged with them. I lay it all out.
There’s a — and it all works. If you see these community intervention programs, they work. They actually reduce crime. They significantly reduce crime. So, that’s a big piece of it.
WOOTSON: Just a follow-up. Is any — is any of it related to political pressure from Republicans saying that Democrats are soft on crime; that — you know, that you guys are careening to the left?
THE PRESIDENT: Isn’t it kind of fascinating? When I first got elected, I was being beat up because I supported the police too much for the previous 30 years. (Stage whispers) No — it’s what I think.
The latest manifestation of this attack has come in the form of Republican attacks on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at confirmation hearings last week.
Watch above via The White House.
