Following the Black Lives Matter protests, the phrase “defund the police” surfaced and is a popular slogan among young activists. However, former President Barack Obama recently spoke against using the phrase as a slogan in calling for change.
Speaking to Peter Hamby in a three-part interview on Good Luck America on Snapchat, Obama noted the phrase that has since made the factions within the Democratic party evident. The former president advised activists against using “defund the police” as a slogan and to resort to other means to enact change in terms of police practices. The phrase had the liberal wing of the party at odds with moderates.
“If you believe, as I do, that we should be able to reform the criminal justice system so that it’s not biased and treats everybody fairly, I guess you can use a snappy slogan like “Defund the Police,” but you know, you lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get things done,” said the former president.
Obama added that the message should instead mean reforms such as bringing in mental health workers to interact with homeless people instead of armed officials. Much like the stance of president-elect Joe Biden, Obama has opposed defunding the police as well. The former president noted that activists should decide whether they want something to be done or be amongst people they agree with. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn has also warned against the phrase, which is a slogan often used by progressives also known as the liberal wing of the party.
The former president also touched on the party’s reluctance to embrace “socialism,” but has defended several prominent figures who identify as such like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez. Obama said that the term is still very “loaded” for Democrats to accept, but the former president noted that rather than focusing on labels, the focus should be on implementing changes. Obama added that the public is more concerned with passing legislation that could benefit everyone regarding key issues such as minimum wage and tackling climate change.