On Tuesday’s broadcast of Peacock TV channel The Choice’s “Mehdi Hasan Show,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) reacted to Democratic critics of the Defund the Police movement like Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) by stating that she doesn’t know what their “point is in saying that you represent the most vulnerable in our communities. Because if you care about those who are vulnerable, then you have to do everything that you can to keep them safe.”
Host Mehdi Hasan asked, “And how do you feel when you see even self-proclaimed progressives in your party like New York Congressman Ritchie Torres saying that Defund the Police is ‘dead’ in New York City and where many Democrats, including the new mayor, a former police captain, are loudly distancing themselves from the defund movement?”
Omar responded, “When you see the rise in mental health crises, when you’re seeing domestic violence increase because of COVID and other measures, when you see so many people with addiction problems, and you see the level of homelessness we have in our communities, and you still say more resources shouldn’t be allocated to that, to keep our communities safe and healthy, I really don’t know what your point is in saying that you represent the most vulnerable in our communities. Because if you care about those who are vulnerable, then you have to do everything that you can to keep them safe.”
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