Facing multiple investigations and 34 felony counts, former President Donald Trump is calling for cuts to the budgets of federal law enforcement.
But voters may not be onboard.
In a post on Truth Social a day after he was arraigned in a New York City courthouse, Trump wrote, “Almost every legal and political analyst has said that the unfair and morally disgusting Indictment filed against me yesterday has NO MERIT, and is not even a case. There was no crime and, anyway, the Statute of Limitations has been violated by many years.”
In a separate post, he said, “REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO THEIR SENSES. THE DEMOCRATS HAVE TOTALLY WEAPONIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT IN OUR COUNTRY AND ARE VICIOUSLY USING THIS ABUSE OF POWER TO INTERFERE WITH OUR ALREADY UNDER SIEGE ELECTIONS!”
Shortly after his call to defund the FBI and the Department of Justice, Fox News featured a group of voters who did not appear too enthused with his proposal.
The network’s Steve Doocy said, “Apparently today, Donald Trump has called for America to defund the police, particularly the FBI, the DOJ because the Democrats have weaponized law enforcement.”
“Raise your hand, who thinks that’s a good idea?” he asked.
The six members of the panel sat in silence and barely moved in response to the question.
Watch the video below:
Steve Doocy: "Donald Trump has called for America to defund the police, particularly the FBI, the DOJ because the Democrats have weaponized law enforcement…Who thinks that's a good idea?"
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) April 5, 2023
Fox Voter Panel: *crickets*
Steve Doocy: "Alright, nobody." pic.twitter.com/vQK2AOa70u
After Trump criticized the “defund the police” movement, it is rather hypocritical to turn around and call to defund law enforcement when he is the target.
If you want to make the case that the FBI should therefore be reformed or “dismantled” because is a bloated, unaccountable federal agency with far too much power that has a history of slandering and targeting people it does not like and is infested by politics, that is one thing.
A persuasive politician might be able to make a convincing case the FBI needs to be broken up and have its responsibilities assigned to other agencies. And voters might get on board with the push.
However, Trump’s call to defund the FBI and DOJ is based on the fact he is the subject of multiple state and federal probes that could lead — and in one case already has — to indictments now that he is no longer in office.
And it is likely going to be hard to convince conservatives, who have spent almost three years now vehemently denouncing the defund movement, to all of a sudden get on board with defunding law enforcement agencies.
A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted Aug. 24-26 found 23% of voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who called to defund the FBI, while 49% said the opposite.
Broken down by party, 32% of Republicans said they would be more likely to support a candidate in favor of defunding the FBI, while 38% said they would be less likely to, and 30% said it would not matter.
Meanwhile, 60% of Democrats and 50% of independents said they would be less likely to support a candidate who called to defund the FBI.
If this Fox group and poll are indications of how voters feel, this may be an idea Trump would do well to drop.