Biden: 'The answer is not to defund the police. It's to fund the police.'
During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Biden stressed the importance of giving communities enough money to hire and train law enforcement officers who can "restore trust and safety" to neighborhoods, saying, "The answer is not to defund the police. It's to fund the police. Fund them. Fund them."
Several Republicans stood after Biden said this, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Biden spoke about recently meeting with the families of two slain New York Police Department officers, Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera, and said he told them "we are forever in debt to their sacrifices and will carry on their mission to restore the trust and safety every community deserves."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
When it comes to public safety, "I know what works," Biden said. "Investigating, crime prevention, and community policing, cops who walk the beat, who know the neighborhood and can restore trust and safety. Let's not abandon our streets or choose between safety and equal justice. Let's come together and protect our communities, restore trust, and hold law enforcement accountable."
The American Rescue Plan provided $350 billion for cities and counties to hire more police officers, Biden said, an investment in "proven strategies" like breaking the cycle of violence and trauma and "giving young people hope." Biden also said he will do everything in his power to crack down on ghost guns and gun trafficking, and called on Congress to ban assault weapons with high-capacity magazines and pass universal backgrounds. "Why should anyone on a terrorist list be able to purchase a weapon?" he asked. "Why? Why?"
-
Venezuela’s Trump-shaped power vacuumIN THE SPOTLIGHT The American abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has thrust South America’s biggest oil-producing state into uncharted geopolitical waters
-
Most data centers are being built in the wrong climateThe explainer Data centers require substantial water and energy. But certain locations are more strained than others, mainly due to rising temperatures.
-
‘Maps are the ideal metaphor for our models of what the world might be’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
