Obama: ‘Defund the Police’ Slogan Loses ‘a Big Audience the Minute You Say It’
Former President Barack Obama is sharing how he thinks the “snappy” slogans such as “defund the police” lose a “big audience.” Speaking with Peter Hamby on Snapchat’s “Good Luck America,” set to air in part on Wednesday…
Former President Barack Obama is sharing how he thinks the “snappy” slogans such as “defund the police” lose a “big audience.”
Speaking with Peter Hamby on Snapchat’s “Good Luck America,” set to air in part on Wednesday morning, Obama said, “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,” according to Axios.
He added, “The key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?”
Obama also addressed why he thinks President Donald Trump gained support among young Black men in the 2020 presidential election.
The former president said, “I think men generally are more susceptible to public figures who act tough, try to project a stereotypical macho style. I don’t think Black men are immune to that any more than white or Hispanic men are.”
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“Defund the police” was a chant that was widely used over the summer by protestors following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police.
A mural reading “Defund the Police” was painted in bright yellow on 16th Street NW in Washington, D.C., near the White House over the summer. It was painted next to the “Black Lives Matter” mural in the city.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was asked by ABC News if she would remove the “Defund the Police” mural, to which she said at the time, “Well, it’s not a part of the , and we certainly encourage expression, but we are using the city streets for city art.”
A “Black Lives Matter” mural was also painted in New York City near Trump Tower. Trump responded at the time, “NYC is cutting Police by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the is going to paint a big, expensive yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury avenue.”
He added in a tweet, “Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates disrespects them, won’t let this symbol of hate be affixed to New York’s greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead!”
Similar to Obama, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said in November that the phrase “defund the police” can “kill a political effort.”