Biden’s ‘Fund the Police’ Comment Draws Backlash From Some BLM Activists

President Joe Biden earned some bipartisan applause for declaring “fund the police” during his State of the Union address Tuesday night but got mixed reactions from activists and politicians.

“Let’s not abandon our streets. Or choose between safety and equal justice,” Biden said. “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.”

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{snip} Reps. Val Demings and Josh Gottheimer tweeted in support of Biden’s comments, but Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., called out Biden for failing to mention “Black lives matter” in his 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,” Bush tweeted.

DeRay McKesson, activist and writer, tweeted the police shouldn’t receive funding because of their lack of accountability and protection for the community. The Black Lives Matter organization didn’t release a statement after Biden’s speech but tweeted a photo of California Rep. Maxine Waters’ seemingly appalled reaction.

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