Although the “Defund the Police” narrative was promoted by the Black Lives Matter movement and pushed by the Democrats, on Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was adamant that any sort of defunding the law enforcement was not the direction of the Democratic party in the future. The words from Pelosi come as crime continues to surge and spread across the country, especially in Democratic strongholds. While the Democrats once claimed they never supported the agenda, it was a constant talking point during the 2020 election. But again, talking to host George Stephanopoulos, Pelosi was sure to distance her party from yet another failed policy. 

Pointing out the rise in crime, Stephanopoulos asked, “The other thing weighing on people now is rising crime. There appear to be some divisions among Democrats on how to handle it. Your colleague Karen Bass running for mayor of Los Angeles trying to increase had the police force in L.A. Cori Bush, congresswoman from Missouri, is saying time to defund the police. She is sticking by that. You’re the speaker. How do you think Democrats should address rising crime?”

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Promoting a new narrative, Pelosi answered, “With all due respect in the world for Cori Bush, that’s not the position of the Democratic Party. Community safety to protect and defend in every way is our oath of office. We’re all concerned about mistreatment of people. That’s why Karen Bass had The Justice in Policing Act. We would hope to get some of that done, whether it’s no-knock, chokehold, or some of those issues even if we can’t get it all done.”

Appearing to no longer support the agenda, Pelosi was sure to add that public safety remained at the forefront. “Make no mistake, community safety is our responsibility. I quote one of my colleagues from New York, Ritchie Torres, a brand new member of Congress way on the left, saying that ‘defund the police’ is dead. That causes a concern with a few in our caucus. But public safety is our responsibility.”