While many progressive Democrats have called for sweeping budget cuts for police, Biden’s plan encourages cities to use COVID-19 relief funds to hire more officers, among other measures. "This surge and the forces on the far-left talking about defunding the police feed into the suspicious that Democrats are simply not serious about combating crime." But Second Amendment advocates seized on the gun control measures included in Biden’s anti-crime plan, accusing the president of misrepresenting the crime wave's root cause. Some top Democrats, including members of the Biden administration, have already begun efforts to deflect GOP efforts at painting the Democratic Party as the party of "defund the police." But the Democratic Party may need prominent progressives, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to adjust their rhetoric as well, according to Kevin Walling, a Democratic campaign strategist and former Biden campaign surrogate.

Source: Fox News July 05, 2021 10:59 UTC