Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) doubled-down during an interview Tuesday morning on her support for the leftist position of defunding the police.
The remarks come as violent crime has exploded across the U.S. under the Biden administration, with some estimates indicating that reports of rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, and murder were up 5% to 40% in major cities.
Bush made the remarks during an interview on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” when co-host George Stephanopoulos noted that Bush was one of the Democrats who has “stuck by” the position despite it being unpopular with Americans.
“Are you worried at all that that could hurt some of your colleagues going into the midterm elections?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“The thing about ‘defund the police’ is we have to tell the entire narrative,” Bush responded. “People hear ‘defund the police,’ but you know what they’ll say, say ‘reallocate,’ say ‘divest,’ say ‘move,’ but it’s still the same thing.”
“We can’t get caught up on the words,” Bush continued. “People spend more time focusing on the word ‘defund’ than they spend on caring and addressing the problem of police violence in this country.”
WATCH:
“Are you worried at all that [saying "Defund the Police"] could hurt some of your colleagues going into the midterm elections?"
Democrat Rep. Cori Bush: "We can't get caught up on the words"
pic.twitter.com/k2T3nbYGHy— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) October 4, 2022
The political Left’s support for “defund the police” exploded during the 2020 election season following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
However, following the violence that erupted during the riots that summer and following the surge in crime that has erupted during the Biden administration, more and more Americans want more funding for law enforcement.
The year after the violent left-wing riots, which caused billions of dollars of damage and injured hundreds of law enforcement officers in cities across the country, the share of Americans who wanted more funding for law enforcement increased to 47%, an spike of 16% from the 31% who wanted it in June of 2020.
Supporting for reducing law enforcement spending also dropped during that time span with only 15% of Americans wanting police budgets decreased, a 10% drop from the 25% who wanted it in 2020.
Bush has spent more than $300,000 for private security over the past election cycle, according to campaign finance records from August, despite her support for “defund the police.”
A list of itemized expenditures from Cori Bush for Congress on the Federal Election Commission website shows that the progressive lawmaker spent $70,489 on “Security Services” — including $50,489 to Peace Security, $15,000 to Cortney Merritts, and $5,000 to Nathaniel Davis. The expenditures — which occurred during the first quarter of 2022 — add to the $233,663 that Bush spent on security services in 2021.
Related: Democrat Cori Bush Faces Backlash For Claiming Judge, Jury, Rittenhouse All White Supremacists