McConnell Calls Push To ‘Defund the Police’ One of the ‘Dumbest Ideas Ever Surfaced’
As lawmakers continue negotiations on a police reform bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is taking a swipe at a popular rallying cry around the push to overhaul policing in the country. Speaking to…
As lawmakers continue negotiations on a police reform bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is taking a swipe at a popular rallying cry around the push to overhaul policing in the country.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Kentucky lawmaker said, “I think defunding the police has gotta be one of the dumbest ideas ever surfaced by anyone in our country.”
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The phrase ‘defund the police’ gained fresh attention last year as protests against police brutality and racism erupted around the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
While the phrase was widely adopted by protesters, the idea remains unpopular among wide swaths of the population.
Just weeks after Floyd’s death, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 39% of respondents said they support the push to defund the police, while 57% said they oppose it. And roughly a year later, a USA Today/Ipsos poll found that just 18% of respondents said they support defunding the police, while 58% said they oppose the push.
A majority of white Americans, 67%, said they oppose defunding the police, and 84% of Republicans said the same. Meanwhile, just 28% of Black Americans and 34% of Democrats said they support defunding the police.