âSquad memberâ Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) claims her support for the defunding the police movement should not be so much about the words.
On Tuesday, George Stephanopoulos pressed Bush on her support for the movement.
Stephanopoulos noted she is one of the few Democrats left sticking to the slogan.
âAre you worried at all that that could hurt some of your colleagues going into the midterm elections?â he asked Bush.
She replied, âThe thing about Defund the Police is we have to tell the entire narrative. People hear defund the police, but you know what theyâll say? say reallocate, say divest, say move, but itâs still the same thing. We canât get caught up on the words.â
Bush continued, âPeople spend more time focusing on the word defund than they do on caring and addressing the problem of police violence in this country.â
Watch her comments below:
The defund the police movement has received significant criticism from Republican lawmakers.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) posted an ad campaign to Twitter over the weekend, sending a message to supporters of the movement, as IJR reported.
âA mom should not have to look over her shoulder when sheâs pumping gas. I voted against the early release of violent criminals and I opposed defunding the police,â Kennedy said in the video message.
He added, âLook, if you hate cops just because theyâre cops, the next time you get in trouble, call a crackhead.â
In June, NBC News reported some Democrats distanced themselves from the slogan in new ads.
The outlet noted in one ad Rep. Val Demings (R-Fla.) said defunding the police was âcrazy.â
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) declared âdefunding the police is ridiculousâ in another ad.
Last month, the House passed bills to provide millions of dollars to local Law Enforcement.
The Mental Health Justice Act of 2022, the Invest to Protect Act of 2022, the Break the Cycle of Violence Act and the Victim Act of 2022 also include accountability measures.