Ian Patrick, FISM News
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During a speech in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, President Joe Biden attacked Republicans for what he said was “endangering the lives of law enforcement,” while promoting the idea that Democrats are pro-police.
Touting his “Safer America Plan,” Biden spoke on a myriad of topics focused on reducing violent crime in America. One of these points was his claim that Democrats were the true pro-law enforcement party.
For instance, Biden said that the answer to national public safety is to “fund the police” and not to “defund the police.”
“We’re in a situation in this country where we have to give them additional resources they need to get their job done,” the Democratic president told his supporters.
Multiple progressive and Democrat leaders piloted the “Defund the Police” movement in response to the riots that followed the death of George Floyd in 2020. Recent data and reports show that many defunding policies implemented in Democrat-run cities have backfired, causing a spike in violent crime in those areas.
Even FBI Director Christopher Wray noted that an uptick in police ambushes was an “alarming phenomenon.”
Biden didn’t just promote Democrats in trying to support the pro-police claim. He also bashed Republicans for what he said was opposition to “support [of] law enforcement” when GOP congressional members voted against his sweeping American Rescue Plan last year.
Biden said the American Rescue Plan contained $350 billion allocated to state and local governments which he said he urged them to use in order “to make communities safer.” This amount was intended to be used to help these localities and states replenish lost tax revenue.
In March of 2021, late FISM Founder Dan Celia called the funds a “bailout” for “bad policies.”
Biden continued in his speech saying that “officers on the street who know the neighborhood” is the antidote to fighting crime. At the same time, he called for accountability in policing saying “increased trust makes policing more effective and it strengthens public safety.”
Biden then turned to gun reform. He mocked the NRA for speaking out against his gun reform bill passed earlier this year known as the Safer Communities Act. He then said he was “determined to ban assault weapons in this country” before mocking “right-wing Americans” wanting weapons to defend themselves.
And for those brave, right-wing Americans who say it’s all about keeping America — keeping America as independent and safe: If you want to fight against a country, you need an F-15. You need something a little more than a gun.
Biden then attacked Congressional “MAGA Republicans” for what he said was supporting the 2021 riot at the Capitol.
And look, you know, if we’re in a situation where — to this day, the MAGA Republicans in Congress defend the mob that stormed to Capitol on January 6th. Defend them … So let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress: Don’t tell me you support law enforcement if you won’t condemn what happened on the 6th … You can’t be a party of law and order and call the people who attacked the police on January 6th ‘patriots.’
Biden also cited conservatives’ criticism of the FBI as a reason that Republicans are against law and order. “I’m opposed to defunding the police,” Biden said adding, “I’m also opposed to defunding the FBI.”