Perspectives: Obama's 'Defund the Police' Remarks
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From the Right
‘The Squad’ fires back at Obama over ‘defund the police’ critiqueAll four members of “The Squad” fired back against former President Barack Obama’s criticism that the “defund the police” movement was just a “snappy slogan.”
Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) tweeted their responses to Obama, who said activists “lost a big audience” by pushing the movement for police reform.“We lose people in the hands of police. It’s not a slogan but a policy demand,” wrote Omar. “And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets...
From the Left
Obama said “defund the police” is a bad slogan. This shouldn’t come as a surprise.Former President Barack Obama is getting pushback from progressive leaders in his party after saying in an interview Wednesday that political candidates who use “snappy” slogans such as “defund the police” could jeopardize their campaign goals on police reform and even lose support from their base.
“You lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done,” Obama told Peter Hamby, who hosts Good Luck America, a Snapchat political show. “The key is...
From the Center
Defund the Police: Obama says 'snappy slogan' risks alienating peopleFormer President Barack Obama has cautioned young Democrat activists against using snappy slogans such as "defund the police" if they want to bring about genuine reforms in the US.
Defund the Police became a widely-used phrase after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May.
Mr Obama said "you lost a big audience the minute you say it", making it "a lot less likely" to effect change.
His comments received a backlash from some key black progressive Democrats.
Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar tweeted "it's not a slogan but...
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