Geraldo Blames George Floyd’s Murder for Dem Trouble on Crime Messaging: ‘The Country Went Crazy with Defund the Police’

Geraldo Rivera said the Democratic Party’s inability to connect with voters on the issue of crime began in 2020 with the murder of George Floyd and the accompanying calls to “defund” police departments.

Crime has soared since Floyd died while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, 2020. Immediately after his death was reported, waves of civil unrest gripped cities across the country. Simultaneously, a number of far-left Democratic lawmakers called to cut police funding or simply abolish police departments altogether.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released earlier this month found Democrats are less trusted than Republicans on the issue of public safety by nine points – 39% to 30%. Other polls have shown a plurality of voters trust Republicans more on the issue.

On Tuesday’s edition of The Five, the panel discussed crime and other issues important to voters with 14 days until the midterm elections.

Co-host Greg Gutfeld said Democrats have been unwilling to listen to reasonable advice on how to curtail the country’s surge in crime rates. Judge Jeanine Pirro mentioned how the New York Times noted Democrats are making an attempt to shift their messaging on the issue.

Dana Perino opined, “Even if they talk about it, they’re not willing to change policies, though.”

Rivera responded, “I think the most important person in the failure of the Democratic Party is George Floyd. I think that once he was murdered, the country went crazy with defund the police and everything else. So the Democrats led the charge.”

Rivera concluded Democrats were being “very, very unrealistic” by throwing their support behind the movement.

Watch above, via Fox News.