On the day after two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies were shot in an ambush, Democratic congresswoman and “Squad” member Ilhan Omar (D-MN) called for “dismantling” the police and suggested that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would be “responsive” to this idea.
“This is our time to get rid of Trump and that we elect someone who’s going to be responsive to the policy positions we are advocating for,” Omar told MSNBC‘s Ali Velshi on Sunday.
Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar says Joe Biden "is going to be responsive to the policy positions we are advocating for," renews calls for "dismantling" policehttps://t.co/T9vO0kb9iK pic.twitter.com/OMzg21LRrz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 13, 2020
While it sounded like Omar implied Biden might support defunding or dismantling the police, Biden has gone on record to say that he does not support defunding law enforcement.
Oddly (and incorrectly), he thinks President Donald Trump does.
“The only person calling to defund the police is Donald Trump.”
This is a real quote from Joe Biden.
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) September 8, 2020
Rep. Omar continued on MSNBC on Sunday: “Biden’s economic package is one that gets us a step closer to addressing the economic and social neglects that have went unaddressed for so long.”
Velshi then asked Omar specifically about Minneapolis and efforts to defund the police in the city she represents, particularly in the wake of the protests and riots sparked by the death of African American George Floyd by law enforcement.
Omar replied, “The George Floyd murder in the hands of Minneapolis police has really opened our eyes to really understanding the credibility and crisis that the Minneapolis police department has had for so long.”
To those who say these are “peaceful protests,” this is exactly what will reelect Donald Trump.
If this continues to happen after the debates, voters will rebel. https://t.co/Bmn5p0S22C
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) September 13, 2020
“Half of the homicides goes unsolved by the Minneapolis Police Department,” she continued. “We’ve heard many reports of rape kits being destroyed. So a majority of people in Minneapolis don’t trust the Minneapolis police.”
“When you have an institution that has lost the trust of the people it’s supposed to serve, then you have to make a big decision on what you do with that institution,” she said.
She added, “And for so many of us, it is going through a process of dismantling that institution and coming together as a community to reimagine what public safety looks like for us.”
"You can't really reform a department that is rotten to the root. What you can do is rebuild," Rep. Ilhan Omar explains her calls to defund the police departments. "No one is saying crimes will not be investigated." #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/t3q10iJv3C
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) June 14, 2020
Omar made similar comments about Minneapolis law enforcement in mid-June, three weeks after Floyd’s death.
“You can’t really reform a department that is rotten to the root. What you can do is rebuild,” Omar said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“And so this is our opportunity, you know, as a city to come together and have the conversation of what public safety looks like, who enforces the most dangerous crimes that take place in our community,” she expounded.
This piece originally appeared in ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.
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