I am appalled and sickened by the scare tactic ads run by the Trump campaign and its PACs regarding defunding police. They are as bad, or worse, than the former “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” ads showing an elderly woman falling down the stairs. That ad was taken off the air after viewers complained it was too graphic.
These ads are misleading and inaccurate at best, blatant lies at worst. Joe Biden didn’t say he wants to eliminate police departments. He said he wanted to direct more money toward mental health services. I fully agree with this; many police calls involve mental health issues. As a retired counselor, I agree that more training on handling these situations is essential.
On June 10, Mr. Biden said, “While I do not believe federal dollars should go to police departments violating people’s rights or turning to violence as the first resort, I do not support defunding police.”
According to www.factcheck.org, “The Trump campaign has spent at least $20 million in July on advertising promoting the false and repeatedly debunked claim that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden favors defunding the police.”
The article continued, “The Trump campaign’s latest TV ad debuted on July 20, just one day after a nationally televised interview in which President Donald Trump made the claim — and was instantly corrected by interviewer Chris Wallace, host of Fox News Sunday. The issue came to the fore when Trump said falsely in his interview with Wallace … that ‘Biden wants to defund the police … Wallace — correctly — immediately challenged the president’s claim. Trump: And Biden wants to defund the police. Wallace: No, he, sir, he does not.”
Wallace continued, “The White House never sent us evidence the Bernie-Biden platform calls for defunding or abolishing police — because there is none. It calls for increased funding for police departments that meet certain standards. Biden has called for redirecting some police funding for related programs – like mental health counseling.”
According to www.factcheck.org, the new ad, “shows an elderly woman watching TV, while someone is trying to break into her home. In the background, Sean Hannity of Fox News can be heard falsely reporting, ‘Joe Biden said he’s absolutely on board with defunding the police.’ Biden is then heard saying, ‘Yes. Absolutely’… In fact, Biden was responding to a question not about defunding the police but about shifting some funding to social service agencies.”
On June 8, Biden told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell, “No, I don’t support defunding the police … 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.”
Let’s move forward with facts, not fiction – and truth, not lies. Joe Biden does not support defunding the police. He supports giving police the resources they need and expanding funding for mental health services, greatly needed in this day and age.
Sandi Moore
Iola