President Biden's latest in a series of proposals and press events aimed at bolstering Democrats' anti-crime stance came with a pointed message for critics of the FBI's raid of former President Donald Trump's home, the New York Times reports. “It’s sickening to see the new attacks on the F.B.I.,” Biden said in a swing-state campaign event in Pennsylvania, referring to some congressional Republicans who have called to “defund” or even “destroy” the F.B.I. over its search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Aug. 8. “I’m opposed to defunding the police,” the president added, speaking at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre. “I’m also opposed to defunding the F.B.I.”
The speech reiterated the administration's proposal for a massive injection of federal money into policing and anti-violence programs, plans Biden has touted for months but that remain a legislative uncertainty. The latest version came with commentary on events that have kept Trump in the news since the 2020 election. “Let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress: Don’t tell me you support law enforcement if you won’t condemn what happened on the 6th,” Biden said, referring to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. “For God’s sake, whose side are you on?” The anti-crime spending itself remains controversial, as Republicans paint Biden and other Democrats as anti-police and to blame for increases in violence since 2020 and progressives charge that more money for cops is a mistake.