GOP Rep. Steve Scalise slammed for manipulating Ady Barkan interview with Joe Biden
![Ady Barkan](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3zSuqjqKCz4HZaVf2cZUMh-415-80.jpg)
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) faced biting criticism Sunday over a video he posted that rearranged an interview between health care activist Ady Barkan and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to make it sound like Biden had agreed to "defund" the police. Barkan, who has ALS and speaks through a computer voice simulator, tweeted that he has "lost my ability to speak, but not my agency or my thoughts," accused Scalise of having "doctored my words for your own political gain," and asked him to "remove this video immediately" and apologize to "the entire disability community."
Biden's answer about directing money to social services to ease the burden on police "has been featured in advertising worth millions of dollars that accuses Biden of wanting to 'defund' police," David Weigel reports at The Washington Post. But "when he's been asked directly about the 'defund the police' concept, Biden has frustrated critics on the right and left by rejecting it." Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said the decision to "doctor" Barkan's words was "both morally abhorrent and a sign of utter panic."
Scalise initially defended the video as a fair representation of Biden's answer, suggesting that "'redirecting' police funding" is the same as "defunding" the police. Scalise spokeswoman Lauren Fine told the Post the video had been "condensed" to "the essence of what he was asking." Twitter flagged the video as "manipulated," and Scalise tweeted late Sunday that he will "honor" Barkan's request "and remove the portion of his interview from our video."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The rest of the video, which accused Democrats of stoking unrest, contained other clips that had been ripped from context," too, Weigel reports. Some Democrats argue that the unpopular idea of "defunding" the police saps support from more broadly popular proposals to redirect some police funding toward preventative programs. Scalise appears to be betting neither idea is popular.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Why is China stockpiling resources?
The Explainer The superpower has been amassing huge reserves of commodities at great cost despite its economic downturn
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrency
Under The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Tattoo prediction
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Florida judge dismisses Trump documents case
Speed Read Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Hamas says military chief survived Israeli strike
Speed Read An Israeli bombing failed to hit its intended target, military commander Mohammed Deif, but killed at least 90 Palestinians
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
First Israeli report on Oct. 7 finds 'severe mistakes and errors' in IDF response
Speed Reads Israeli military admits failures in response to deadly Hamas attack that triggered Gaza war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden saw neurologist during physicals
Speed Read Following his bad debate performance, many are asking questions about the president's brain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia bombs Kyiv children's hospital
Speed Reads The daytime barrage interrupted heart surgeries and killed at least 40 people
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published