Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R)Ā is warning it is a āvery dangerous timeā with what he believes are increased efforts to āweaken the police.ā
Fox News host Sean Hannity mentioned on Monday night the protests that have broken out in response to the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, a Black man, in Minnesota on Sunday.
Gingrich explained this is not the first time the nation has experienced unrest like what it is seeing now.
āI think that the danger weāveĀ got which weāve had before.Ā The Black Panther movement inĀ the late ā60s for example,Ā engaged in fairly large-scaleĀ rioting.Ā There were 2,500 bombs that went off fromĀ 1969 to ā70,ā Gingrich said.
He continued, āThere were riots in an amazing number of cities in the 1960s. Part of what you have here is that the society canāt decide whether or not it favors law and order in the classic sense.ā
Watch his interview below:
Arguing there is evidence of people ātauntingā and āattackingā the police, Gingrich added, āWe have made being a policeman dramatically more dangerous. Historically thatās very unhealthy.ā
Gingrich noted āthe bias historicallyā had been those who risk their lives to protect the American people deserve āthe benefit of the doubtā and deserve āthe support of the community.ā
He explained, āIĀ think this is a very dangerousĀ time for the country and we needĀ to understand that the more weĀ weaken the police, the greaterĀ the likelihood of really seriousĀ crime and the greater theĀ likelihood that innocent peopleĀ are going to be killed or hurt.ā
In response to a video of a man taunting a police officer, Gingrich told Hannity the real question is āwhy isnāt he arrested?ā
The former speaker of the House warned, āIf we are going to back off andĀ we are going to apologize andĀ weāre going to allow the forcesĀ of crime and the forces ofĀ hostility to dominate theĀ streets, then weāre going to getĀ what we are now getting which isĀ in every major city ⦠a dramaticĀ rise in crime.ā
He went on, āWho does that hurt? It hurts the innocent. It hurts minorities. Who are the largest number of victims of these kind of criminals? They are African-Americans.ā
Calling it āmadness,ā Gingrich argued there has to come a time where society has to decide āwe areĀ in favor of the law.Ā We are in favor of the police.ā
Acknowledging Law Enforcement must be trained and an investigation is necessary when something goes wrong, he claimed: āOn balance a strong, effective, trained police force is better for the poorest people and better for the minority groups than any other situation.ā
