Trump is a threat to democracy, page-93

Does the 'left' want to defund the police?

CLAIM

Top Congressional Republicans attacked the Democrats on police funding.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said "The left wants to defund the police."

CONCLUSION

While some Democrats have joined calls for a radical shift in police policy, including a reduction in police budgets, top congressional Democrats and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have not supported calls to "defund the police."

EVIDENCE

Biden's published criminal justice plan called for a $300 million investment in community policing efforts -- including the hiring of more officers.

On June 8, Biden told CBS, "No, I don't support defunding the police," Rather, he said, "I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness. And, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community and everybody in the community."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Democrat of Maryland, told CNN, "Defunding police departments are not the answer." House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline and Karen Bass have also spoken out about the phrase, CNN reported in June.

It's worth noting that the slogan "defund the police" means different things to different activists -- from the dissolution of police forces to partial reductions in funding.

Trump's campaign has seized on a single comment Biden made to a progressive activist in a July video chat. In that conversation, Biden repeated his opposition to defunding police. When pressed, he did say he "absolutely" agrees that some funding can be redirected to social services, mental health counseling and affordable housing, but he immediately transitioned to his previous proposal to deny federal funding to specific police departments that do not meet certain standards. Biden said in early June that decisions about funding levels should be made by local communities, since some have too many officers but some don't have enough.

https://edition.cnn.com/factsfirst/politics/factcheck_fa5dd2d9-baea-4f8c-bd53-7e9c70b1765d