Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is hitting back at the notion that he wants to defund the police — an accusation that has been one of President Donald Trump’s frequent attack points.
During an appearance on “60 Minutes,” Biden said, “I’ve never, ever supported defunding police. Matter of fact, we’d get more funding for police for different reasons.”
He continued, “Any use of violence, burning down stores, smashing windows, that is a crime, people should be arrested. No justification for it. There’s never been a conflict with me between law and order and dignity. They’re one in the same.”
Asked about Trump’s boasts that he’s “saved the suburbs,” Biden shot back, “[Trump] wouldn’t know a suburb unless he took a long turn. Go out in the suburbs now, it’s not 1950. There are black and white families living next door to each other and driving each other’s kid to soccer practice. This is a different world than he lives in.”
Watch the video below:
“I've never, ever supported defunding police,” says Joe Biden. https://t.co/h41Bd0jRIW pic.twitter.com/cGpCRuWoLd
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 26, 2020
Trump has insisted that Biden’s stance is to defund the police. During a Fox News interview in July, Trump said, “It’s gotten totally out of control and it’s really because they want to defund the police, and Biden wants to defund the police.” When host Chris Wallace told the president that he was wrong about Biden’s policy on defunding the police, Trump doubled down.
Biden has frequently distanced himself from calls to defund the police. Over the summer, his campaign put out a statement saying, “Biden does not believe that police should be defunded … Biden supports the urgent need for reform.”
During a CBS interview over the summer, Biden said, “I don’t support defunding the police. I support conditioning federal aid to police, based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness.”