Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) believes his party has unfairly been tied to the ‘defund the police’ slogan despite few Democrats actually supporting the push.
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday, Manchin was asked why he believes President-elect Joe Biden faired better in the election than many down-ballot Democratic candidates.
“The bottom line is, we’ve been identified as something we’re not,” Manchin responded. “I’m a West Virginia Democrat — a proud West Virginia Democrat — and I don’t know of any Democrat, that I know of, that would ever defund the police.”
He continued, “And how that got on as a mantra, that that’s a Democrat slogan, that’s not true. And how all these other things, that seem extreme, are not true. That’s not who we are. But, we were tagged with that. We were slow probably as a party in responding to it.”
Manchin argued that the Democratic Party will “fight for workers’ rights, human rights.”
But, he suggested, “We’re not, basically, explaining that in a way that the average American understands. And we’re allowing other people to tag us. And that’s just unfair.”
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WATCH: @Sen_JoeManchin says the Democratic Party "has been identified as something we are not." #MTP
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 6, 2020
"I don't know of any Democrat … that would ever defund the police."
"We were tagged with that. We were slow as a party in responding to it." pic.twitter.com/BBd5jgGEDb
“Defund the police” became a popular rallying cry among protestors in the wake of George Floyd’s death in May.
However, after Democrats clinched the White House but saw disappointing losses in Congress, more moderate members of the party have argued that slogans such as “defund the police” hurt their chances.
Shortly after the election, Manchin took to Twitter to criticize the “defund the police” slogan. He wrote, “Defund the police? Defund, my butt. I’m a proud West Virginia Democrat. We are the party of working men and women. We want to protect Americans’ jobs & healthcare. We do not have some crazy socialist agenda, and we do not believe in defunding the police.”
After progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has championed the slogan, responded by tweeting a picture of her glaring a Manchin during a State of the Union address, he said, “I’m understanding she’s not that active with her bills or in committee. She’s more active on Twitter than anything else.”
“We’re not going to defund the police. We’re not for the new green deal. That’s not going to happen. We’re not for Medicare for All — we can’t even pay for Medicare for some,” he added.
Manchin is not the only one who has criticized the slogan. Former President Barack Obama (D) said, “snappy slogans” can lose a “big audience the minute you say it.”