#WH says Trump ‘appalled’ by movement to defund police, slams proponents

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Monday that President Trump is “appalled” by a movement to defund police, slamming New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for their support for the proposal.

“The president is appalled by the defund the police movement,” McEnany said at a White House press briefing.

Trump tweeted Monday that he supports “LAW & ORDER” and opposes defunding police, as momentum builds among Democrats to defund or abolish police departments.

“The fact that you have sitting congresswomen wanting to defund the police notably, Rashida Tlaib, notably Biden adviser AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a former Clinton and Eric Holder spokesperson Brian Fallon, wanting to defund our police across this country, it is extraordinary,” McEnany said.

“The mayor of LA wants to defund police, take money away from police. Mayor de Blasio, the mayor of New York, wants to take money away from police. That means cutting off police, that means reducing police departments, that means defunding police departments, if not getting rid of them entirely. No, he does not agree with that, and the rest of America does not agree with that,” she added.

De Blasio said Sunday he supported reducing NYPD funding. “We will be moving funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services,” the mayor said.

AOC tweeted Sunday it was “unethical” to give the NYPD more funding than various social services.

In a Friday TV interview, AOC said she is “actively engaged in advocacy” for “reduction of our NYPD budget and defunding a $6 billion NYPD budget that costs us books in the hands of our children and costs us very badly needed investment in [the New York City Housing Authority] and public housing.”

After McEnany’s remarks, the 30-year-old socialist tweeted: “@PressSec wouldn’t be the first person to mistake a women of color for having a lower position or title than she does, but Kayleigh – in case you haven’t picked up a newspaper in two years, I’m a Congresswoman.”

A majority of the Minneapolis city council, over the weekend, vowed to abolish the local force. In DC, activists were irked when DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, who proposed increased police funding, painted “Black Lives Matter” on a street outside the White House. They painted “Defund the Police” alongside it.

At the White House press conference, McEnany slammed the Black Lives Matter DC chapter, which advocates for defunding police.

“I would just take at their own words Black Lives Matter DC. And Black Lives Matter DC said Black Lives Matter means defund the police. So if that’s what the movement means, of course, the president stands against defunding the police. All black lives matter, including the life of [retired St Louis police captain] David Dorn who perished in the last week and a half, including [Federal Protective Service officer] Patrick Underwood, who also lost his life. This week, all black lives matter. But in terms of the movement Black Lives Matter, they define themselves as ‘defund the police,’ and that’s something this president stands against,” she said.

McEnany also broadly described the Democratic Party as tainted by the movement, though presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) distanced themselves Monday from efforts to defund police.

“When you think the left has gone far and they couldn’t possibly go farther — because we all remember the defund ICE movement, they want to de fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement — and now they wanted to fund the police. This is extraordinary. This is rolling back the protective layers that protect Americans in their homes and in their places of business. He’s appalled by it and it’s remarkable to hear this coming from today’s Democratic Party,” McEnany said.