Biden Sounds Alarm After Primaries: ‘Both Parties Have To Step Up And Do Something About Crime’

President Joe Biden went out of his way to tell reporters that voters “delivered a clear message” with Tuesday night’s primary results: crime is on their minds.

Gun reform has been a big part of the White House’s messaging in the wake of the high-profile mass murders at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York and at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. But before he left for Los Angeles to host the Ninth Summit of the Americas, Biden previewed some new messaging.

Before his Air Force One departure at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday afternoon, the president approached reporters to volunteer his take on Tuesday’s primary results, namely that crime appears to be as high on voters’ list of concerns as gun violence. Biden also listed some of his bona fides on the issue:

I’ve got a brief statement I’m going to make if I can. I think the voters sent a clear message last night: Both parties have to step up and do something about crime, as well as gun violence.

And I sent, as you recall — with the first major bill we passed, we gave the states and localities billions of dollars — billions of dollars they have — and I encouraged them to use it to hire police officers and reform their police departments. Very few have done it.

In addition to that, I sent to Congress a request for $300 million in this year’s budget to deal with hiring cops, to retrain cops, as well as to make sure they are adequately dispersed around the communities.

It’s time they move. It’s time to states and the localities spend the money they have to deal with crime, as well as retrain police officers, as well as provide for more community policing.

It’s time to get on with doing that. And that’s what I think the message last night from the American public was in all the primaries.

Thank you.

Watch above via The Hill.