Yes, Biden wants to defund the police

"Redirecting" funds is defunding

Posted on Jul 20, 2020

Joe Biden’s recent call to “redirect” funds from the police instead of “defunding” the police is the latest example of his effort to appease the radical left that is puppeteering his campaign while he pretends to be a moderate.

When asked in an interview this month whether police funds should be redirected, he replied “absolutely.” According to Fox News:

In a Now This interview with activist Ady Barkan, the presumptive Democratic nominee said that police forces don’t need surplus military equipment, saying this is what leads them to “become the enemy” in a community.

“But do we agree that we can redirect some of the [police] funding?” Barkan asked Biden.

“Yes, absolutely,” said the former vice president.

Let’s be clear, “redirecting” money from the police is “defunding” the police. Redirecting appropriations from one account to another is effectively defunding the primary account. Whether Biden is “redirecting” funds from the police or “defunding” the police, the end result is the same–police funding is leaving police departments.

Politifact even defined for us what radical activists mean when they say, “Defund the Police”:

“While some protesters want to eliminate police departments entirely, others want to reexamine the functions of police departments and redirect some of their funding to other services.”

PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor also clarified via tweet what activists mean:

redirecting funds from police departments to other parts of society” when they say “defund the police.”

While Biden is busy catering to radical leftists, polls have shown that the majority of Americans oppose defunding the police. Biden has created a “you say tomato, I say tomato” situation for himself.

While Biden tiptoes around the controversial campaign issues, do not be fooled by his non-committal language. Biden may maintain support for “redirecting” funding instead of “defunding”, but they mean the same thing. No matter what verbiage Biden uses, he supports taking money from America’s police departments at a time when Americans cannot afford to jeopardize their community’s safety.