President Joe Biden bucked more progressive Democrats by calling to “fund the police” during his first State of the Union speech. Democratic lawmakers have remained divided on the issue of police reform, and some criticized Biden following his address.
“We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police,” Biden said. “The answer is to fund the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities.”
“All our country has done is given more funding to police,” Representative Cori Bush tweeted. “The result? 2021 set a record for fatal police shootings.”
However, Biden’s pro-police statements echoed the public sentiment apparent in recent demonstrations of support for fallen NYPD officers.
