(Headline USA) Black Lives Matter condemned President Joe Biden on Tuesday for vowing to “fund the police” during his State of the Union address.
In an attempt to distance his party from the radical “defund the police” movement, Biden said during his speech, “We should all agree: The answer is not to defund the police. The answer is to fund the police. Fund them with resources and training they need to protect our communities.”
In response, the official Black Lives Matter organization tweeted:
POV: listening to Biden declare “the answer is not to defund the police, it’s to fund the police”#SOTU pic.twitter.com/ZegIneiCvU
— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) March 2, 2022
“No, [Biden], we don’t ‘all agree,’” BLM continued. “We still say #DefundThePolice and hold killer cops accountable.”
No, @joebiden, we don’t “all agree.”
We still say #DefundThePolice and hold killer cops accountable.
THURSDAY, 3/3 AT NOON IN FRONT OF THE US DOJ
We’ll be standing in the name of #AndrewJosephIII to #EndQualifiedImmunity and demand justice for our people. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/W0BlgOIDGX— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) March 2, 2022
Leftist Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mass., who is a part of the so-called Squad, also blasted Biden and claimed that funding the police has resulted in a “a record for fatal police shootings.”
With all due respect, Mr. President. You didn’t mention saving Black lives once in this speech.
All our country has done is given more funding to police. The result? 2021 set a record for fatal police shootings.
Defund the police. Invest in our communities. https://t.co/t0n0EpHMwd
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) March 2, 2022
Biden’s comment earned praise from other groups, however, including from many of the congressional Republicans who attended the State of the Union. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., even led the GOP caucus in giving Biden a standing ovation.
