President Joe Biden dismissed those in his party who want to defund the police, telling reporters Wednesday evening that he is “the Democratic Party.”
Biden briefly spoke to reporters upon returning to the White House late Wednesday evening. The president came from a CNN town hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he addressed questions on the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines, inflation and more.
At one point, moderator and CNN host Don Lemon asked Biden his thoughts on Republicans who say the Democratic Party is anti-police. The president responded by saying Republicans are “lying” and noted he himself has not called for defunding the police.
The Daily Caller asked Biden to clarify his comments and Biden noted he never said there is no one in the party who is anti-police. The president appeared to brush off the progressive wing of the party’s thoughts on the subject and said he is the Democratic Party.
“I said that is not the Democratic Party’s position,” Biden said. “I’m the Democratic Party. I am president. So is the Speaker of the House [Nancy Pelosi] and so is the Majority Leader [Chuck Schumer]. We are not defunding the police.”
When pushed on whether there are people within the party who do want to defund the police, Biden said:
“Are there people in the Republican Party who think we’re sucking the blood out of kids?”
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) July 22, 2021
Biden, when pressed on whether members of the party do want to defund the police, responded with a dig that appeared to be a reference to QAnon.
“Are there people in the Republican Party who think we’re sucking the blood out of kids?” the president responded before heading into the White House.
Multiple members of the Democratic Party have clashed with the president on policing issues and pushed for defunding the police. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Missouri Rep. Cori Bush have all supported defunding the police.
Biden didn’t elaborate on how he plans to work with Democrats who don’t see eye-to-eye with him on the topic. (RELATED: ‘The Squad’ Pushes To ‘Defund The Police’ While Spending Thousands On Private Security To Protect Themselves)
