Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
20 U.S. cities DEFUNDED their police department. Guess who runs each city? Democrats! ...Now violent crime is surging across the nation. Looking Back: Democrats Push to Defund the Police - When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. - Maya Angelou .....From the White House to the Speaker’s Office, Democrats are scrambling to distance themselves from the slogan they once so proudly championed – ‘Defund the Police.’ This was a rallying cry for progressives throughout the last year, but after losing nearly a dozen seats and seeing the latest polling, Democrats are now claiming it was actually Republicans who wanted to defund the police… no, really. We didn’t think it was serious either. It’s a messaging strategy so distorted and bizarre even the Washington Post gave it 3 Pinocchios.
Who knows how long Democrats will try out this new talking point before shame outweighs their desperation, but in an effort to reach across the aisle, RSC wanted to help our colleagues on the Left get back to reality and stop embarrassing themselves.
We looked for an example of a Republican official calling for defunding or "reimagining" police, but couldn't find anything. Democrats can't say the same - in fact, here are over two dozen examples of when they have:
Take their word for it:
The "defund the police" movement, is one of reimagining the current police system to build an entity that does not violate us, while relocating funds to invest in community services.
Let’s be clear, the people who now oppose this, have always opposed calls for systematic change. https://t.co/SEh97GS9hg
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 9, 2020
The defund movement isn't new. Folks are just finally listening. "We got money for wars but can't feed the poor." #HappyBirthdayTupac #DefundPolice #FundCommunities
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) June 16, 2020
I believe we need to protect families who need help, and ICE isn’t doing that. It has become a deportation force. We need to separate immigration issues from criminal justice. We need to abolish ICE, start over and build something that actually works. https://t.co/JtSN68k4Fd
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) June 29, 2018
Instead of spending $80 billion a year on jails and incarceration, we need to be investing in more jobs and education. One thing is abundantly clear: Every police department violating people's civil rights must be stripped of federal funding. Period.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 4, 2020
When we say #DefundPolice, what we mean is people are dying and we need to invest in people's livelihoods instead.
EXAMPLE: Detroit spent $294 million on police last year, and $9 million on health.
This is systemic oppression in numbers. pic.twitter.com/oPe0GD3D6p
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) June 4, 2020
Defunding the police is about rebuilding our country in the image of our people — full of humanity, love, and care. Particularly for our kids and schools. https://t.co/vLZGfaidlH
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) February 22, 2021
Another unarmed black man, shot in the back, by a WI police officer! No matter the outrage at the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, knee on his neck, the killing of black men continues. Is this a defiance by the police that indicates they don’t intend to stop?
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) August 26, 2020
This is the same Sacramento Police Department that murdered #StephonClark. The leadership of the department, and all of these officers, must be fired. Then, the department must be dismantled and policing reimagined.pic.twitter.com/c8dORCjsKG
— Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) August 30, 2020
For those who think spending more on policing works, look at St. Louis.
We spend more per capita on police than 85% of police depts, yet 68% of violent crimes go unsolved. And police kill us at the highest rate in the nation.
Police don’t need more money. Our communities do.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) June 3, 2021
Defunding the police isn’t radical, it’s real. https://t.co/wUcTjxqS3w
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) January 28, 2021
Re-allocate police funding to unarmed traffic forces to remove even the possibility of state-sanctioned manslaughter. https://t.co/AbZ4NcwCC0
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) April 12, 2021
ICE has kept a 7 year old captive & alone for FOUR MONTHS with no parents around.
This is cruel and unusual punishment. The Eight Amendment strictly prohibits government from acting this way.
THIS is what we need to “shut down until we figure out what’s going on.” Defund ICE. https://t.co/l47AcpudDZ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 12, 2018
Defund ICE.
Fund the USPS.
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) August 15, 2020
20 U.S. cities DEFUNDED their police department. Guess who runs each city? Democrats! ...Now violent crime is surging across the nation. Looking Back: Democrats Push to Defund the Police - When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. - Maya Angelou .....From the White House to the Speaker’s Office, Democrats are scrambling to distance themselves from the slogan they once so proudly championed – ‘Defund the Police.’ This was a rallying cry for progressives throughout the last year, but after losing nearly a dozen seats and seeing the latest polling, Democrats are now claiming it was actually Republicans who wanted to defund the police… no, really. We didn’t think it was serious either. It’s a messaging strategy so distorted and bizarre even the Washington Post gave it 3 Pinocchios.
Who knows how long Democrats will try out this new talking point before shame outweighs their desperation, but in an effort to reach across the aisle, RSC wanted to help our colleagues on the Left get back to reality and stop embarrassing themselves.
We looked for an example of a Republican official calling for defunding or "reimagining" police, but couldn't find anything. Democrats can't say the same - in fact, here are over two dozen examples of when they have:
Take their word for it:
The "defund the police" movement, is one of reimagining the current police system to build an entity that does not violate us, while relocating funds to invest in community services.
Let’s be clear, the people who now oppose this, have always opposed calls for systematic change. https://t.co/SEh97GS9hg
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) June 9, 2020
The defund movement isn't new. Folks are just finally listening. "We got money for wars but can't feed the poor." #HappyBirthdayTupac #DefundPolice #FundCommunities
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) June 16, 2020
I believe we need to protect families who need help, and ICE isn’t doing that. It has become a deportation force. We need to separate immigration issues from criminal justice. We need to abolish ICE, start over and build something that actually works. https://t.co/JtSN68k4Fd
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) June 29, 2018
Instead of spending $80 billion a year on jails and incarceration, we need to be investing in more jobs and education. One thing is abundantly clear: Every police department violating people's civil rights must be stripped of federal funding. Period.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 4, 2020
When we say #DefundPolice, what we mean is people are dying and we need to invest in people's livelihoods instead.
EXAMPLE: Detroit spent $294 million on police last year, and $9 million on health.
This is systemic oppression in numbers. pic.twitter.com/oPe0GD3D6p
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) June 4, 2020
Defunding the police is about rebuilding our country in the image of our people — full of humanity, love, and care. Particularly for our kids and schools. https://t.co/vLZGfaidlH
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) February 22, 2021
Another unarmed black man, shot in the back, by a WI police officer! No matter the outrage at the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, knee on his neck, the killing of black men continues. Is this a defiance by the police that indicates they don’t intend to stop?
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) August 26, 2020
This is the same Sacramento Police Department that murdered #StephonClark. The leadership of the department, and all of these officers, must be fired. Then, the department must be dismantled and policing reimagined.pic.twitter.com/c8dORCjsKG
— Mondaire Jones (@MondaireJones) August 30, 2020
For those who think spending more on policing works, look at St. Louis.
We spend more per capita on police than 85% of police depts, yet 68% of violent crimes go unsolved. And police kill us at the highest rate in the nation.
Police don’t need more money. Our communities do.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) June 3, 2021
Defunding the police isn’t radical, it’s real. https://t.co/wUcTjxqS3w
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) January 28, 2021
Re-allocate police funding to unarmed traffic forces to remove even the possibility of state-sanctioned manslaughter. https://t.co/AbZ4NcwCC0
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) April 12, 2021
ICE has kept a 7 year old captive & alone for FOUR MONTHS with no parents around.
This is cruel and unusual punishment. The Eight Amendment strictly prohibits government from acting this way.
THIS is what we need to “shut down until we figure out what’s going on.” Defund ICE. https://t.co/l47AcpudDZ
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 12, 2018
Defund ICE.
Fund the USPS.
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) August 15, 2020
