Biden betrayed them.
On Wednesday, the official Twitter account of the “Black Lives Matter” movement berated President Joe Biden for statements he made about his support for keeping the police funded during his State of the Union address.
In his speech, Biden renounced the “Defund the Police” movement. A statement most Democrats applauded. Instead, the President touted “Proven strategies like community violence interruption, trusted messengers, breaking the cycle of violence and trauma, and giving young people some hope.”
Biden continued his emphatic support of the police, saying, “We should all agree the answer is not to defund the police, it’s to fund the police!”
During the applause Biden emphasized his stance, repeating calls to “Fund them” while adding, “Fund them with resources and training! Resources and training they need to protect our communities!”
The overall consensus surrounding the President’s comments on funding the police was welcoming. But, not everyone was pleased with the President’s announcement.
A day after Biden made his remarks, the official BLM Twitter account tweeted an image of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA.) frowning, referencing the image as the group’s point of view on Biden’s “the answer is not to defund the police, it’s to fund the police” statements.
Others were far harsher when expressing their displeasure regarding Biden’s remarks.
In a profanity-laden tweet, one Twitter user who described himself as a communist tweeted, “Fund the police? F*** you, Joe Biden. I f***ing hate this s***hole country.”
Another user shared their views about Biden’s disregard for Black people, despite the President having selected a Black woman for Supreme Court Justice.
“Love how Biden listed a bunch of bipartisan things he signed for many groups and then for black ppl was like, ‘F*** YOUR MARCHES, More money for the police! Suck it blacks!’ Real cool stuff.”
Los Angeles City Council candidate, Albert Corado, commented, “Dude says we need to fund the police. He’s an enemy of the people. Simple as that.”
However, the issue ― which is a sticking point in progressive circles ― isn’t popular among centrist Democrats, with many blaming the “Defund the Police” movement for losses in congressional and state races in the 2020 election.
The movement has also been called a “non-starter” in statements made by House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) on MSNBC. He also said the movement was a “chokehold around the Democratic party.”
