News and Commentary

Trey Gowdy Rips Push To Defund Police: ‘Single Dumbest Idea I Have Ever Heard’

   DailyWire.com
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 03: Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) of the House Select Committee on Benghazi speaks to reporters at a press conference on the findings of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's personal emails at the U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2015 in Washington, D.C. The New York Times reported that Clinton may have violated the law by using a personal email account for official business at the State Department.
Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) both slammed the far-left’s new agenda of defunding police departments, saying that the idea is ludicrous and would undermine the entire justice system.

Appearing on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Scott said that the idea to “defund the police” was a “ridiculous idea.”

“It is not an idea whose time has come,” Scott continued. “It should never come. The absolute nation requires law and order. We need order in our streets, and the easiest way to have that is to have a strong presence of character-driven law enforcement officers.”

Scott added that he has introduced the George Floyd-Walter Scott Notification Act in an effort to get law enforcement agencies to report data on the use of force that leads to death so that lawmakers can get a clearer picture of what is going on throughout the country.

Later during the program Gowdy said, “Defunding the police is the single dumbest idea I have ever heard.”

“Who is going to process crime scenes, arrest bad people?” Gowdy continued. “Who is going to enforce any law, child sex abuse, homicide? Who is going to do it, if it’s not the police?”

WATCH:

 

TRANSCRIPT:

MARIA BARTIROMO, SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES ANCHOR: Virtually every major city in the country has seen protesters take to the streets these past weeks demanding justice and major reforms after the death of George Floyd.

A new rallying cry emerging: Defund the police.

Joining me right now is Republican Senator from South Carolina Tim Scott and former South Carolina Congressman and FOX News contributor Trey Gowdy.

Gentlemen, it’s great to see you this morning. Thanks very much for being here.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Thank you.

BARTIROMO: And I love the fact that the both of you are such good friends and have been such good friends for many years now.

What is your reaction to defund the police? And I also, Senator, want to take your attention to this op-ed that we saw in The Journal this week, “The Myth of Systemic Police Racism,” the myth.

They say: “George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis has revived the Obama era narrative that law enforcement is endemically racist. In fact, this charge of systemic police bias is — was wrong during the Obama years and remains wrong today. However sickening the video of Floyd’s arrest, it does not represent the 375 million annual contracts the police officers have with civilians.”

Your reaction.

SCOTT: Well, I’d say, on the defund police, what a ridiculous idea.

It is not an idea whose time has come. It should never come. The absolute nation requires law and order. We need order in our of streets, and the easiest way to have that is to have a strong presence of character-driven law enforcement officers.

As it relates to the op-ed, I had a chance to read Heather’s work. I start off by, bless her heart.

But I would say this to that op-ed. There’s no doubt in my mind that the average law enforcement officer in this nation is not a racist. There’s also no doubt in my mind that, when you look at the actual facts, black folks are 2.5 times more likely to be shot by an officer than whites.

There’s a lot missing in the articles. One of the reasons why I have proposed of legislation, the George Floyd-Walter Scott Notification Act, to get law enforcement agencies to report the data on the use of force that leads to death.

Without that actual information in an aggregate value, we don’t really know what’s going on. Fewer than 45 percent of agencies actually report their information to the FBI.

So, I think it would help all of us to get a clearer picture of what’s going on within the law enforcement community.

BARTIROMO: Trey.

TREY GOWDY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Maria, within communities of color, the issues with law enforcement are much broader than who shoots whom.

That’s incredibly important, but it’s arrest rates. It’s sentencing disparities. It’s access to bond. It’s access to diversion programs.

Senator Scott mentioned being stopped by law enforcement. Maria, he was stopped seven times as a law — as a public official. Seven times, the man your viewers are looking at was stopped by law enforcement. He was stopped from entering the Capitol, even though he wears his Senate lapel pin and looks like a CPA.

I look like a gangster and don’t wear my House lapel pin, and I was never stopped. So, the problems are much broader than just who shoots whom.

BARTIROMO: OK.

GOWDY: Defunding the police is the single dumbest idea I have ever heard.

Who is going to process crime scenes, arrest bad people? Who is going to enforce any law, child sex abuse, homicide? Who is going to do it, if it’s not the police?

BARTIROMO: Yes, it’s a great point. Yes.

We want to continue this conversation. Tim Scott and Trey Gowdy are with me this morning.

We’re going to take a short break and come right back with this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back.

We are with two leaders of our community this morning, Senator Tim Scott and former Congressman Trey Gowdy.

Guys, I want to get your reaction to what the D.C. mayor had painted on the streets. And this is the Black Lives Matter mural which is on the road leading to the White House.

Do you think this is to honor the cause, or is this a message to President Trump, Senator?

SCOTT: It certainly is a — it certainly is a message to President Trump. And it’s a terrible message to our nation. It is polarizing, unnecessary, and unproductive.

The fact of the matter is that we certainly need to focus our attention on moving this country together, about healing. And that seemed to be in your face for one specific purpose, to be in his face.

That does not help the movement. It does not help the cause. It does not help the country. I found it to be really polarizing.

BARTIROMO: How are we going to bring this country together?

I know, Senator, you have been speaking with President Trump. Trey Gowdy, you have been talking a lot about this. What are your ideas, first you, Trey, in terms of bring the country together?

GOWDY: Well, you know, Maria, three years ago, Tim Scott and I could have written a book about anything in the world, and we chose to write a book about unity.

And Tim Scott has done more to open my eyes. I have never been black a day in my life, not a day in my life. So, I need someone else’s eyes to experience that, to understand what that is like.

We need a country that is not so wed to conflict, wed to divisiveness. I mean, we have been through impeachment, a pandemic…

BARTIROMO: Yes.

GOWDY: … an economic maelstrom.

We need to focus on unity, and not monetizing conflict, which is what our culture does now.

SCOTT: Maria, one of the…

BARTIROMO: I think, Senator, you have been doing that with your Opportunity Zones too.

Go ahead, sir.

SCOTT: We certainly have.

President Trump is actually right about the importance of an economic comeback to bring people together. The more resources you have, the more margin you have towards other people in the country.

But one of the things that we can do to bring this nation together is to follow the example of Trey Gowdy as a prosecutor and as a human being. Trey has an amazing story. A young African-American was killed — murdered. Excuse me.

And her father had no confidence in the justice system, until he met Trey Gowdy. And as a result of that meeting with Trey Gowdy, he still had no confidence. But, at the end of the trial, the man who said that this country is too prejudiced to bring justice to his daughter…

BARTIROMO: Yes.

SCOTT: … he hugged Trey Gowdy. He hugged him, because justice was found.

BARTIROMO: What a beautiful vision. We will end it there.

Senator Tim Scott, former Congressman Trey Gowdy, thank you, gentlemen. Have a good day.

The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.  

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Trey Gowdy Rips Push To Defund Police: ‘Single Dumbest Idea I Have Ever Heard’