Kilmeade presses Biden campaign chair: Why hasn't he weighed in on violent crime spikes?
Biden Campaign Chair Cedric Richmond told 'Fox & Friends' the former vice president had addressed the issue in his plans, would take questions when it's safe to do so
Joe Biden has already addressed the issue of crime in America's cities, Biden Campaign Chair Cedric Richmond insisted Thursday.
In an interview on "Fox & Friends," host Brian Kilmeade asked the Louisiana congressman why the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee had not weighed in on rising crime in cities like New York, Chicago, and Atlanta.
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"Well, the vice president has weighed in on crime in our inner cities. If you look at his one criminal justice reform plan – or, better yet, look at his economic plan or his ‘Lift Every Voice’ plan for the African-American community," Richmond replied.
In the Lift Every Voice plan, Biden promises to "pursue evidence-based measures to root out persistent violent crime" and hold offenders accountable.
He also commits to addressing gun violence by creating a $900-million, eight-year initiative to "fund evidence-based interventions in 40 cities across the country – the 20 cities with the highest number of homicides, and 20 cities with the highest number of homicides per capita."
He says the proposal is estimated to save more than 12,000 lives over the course of the program.
In the former vice president's Plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice, Biden calls for a $300 million infusion into federal community policing grant programs and aims to spend more federal money on education, social services, and struggling areas, to address the root causes of crime.
New York Police Department officers stand in formation after arresting multiple protesters marching after curfew on Fifth Avenue, Thursday, June 4, 2020, in New York. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
"But, what about reacting to the news?" Kilmeade wondered. "And, that's what we're seeing now."
As more Democratic lawmakers commit to redistributing police funding, major cities have seen an alarming spike in violent crime over the last few weeks. The New York City Police Department reported this month that shootings were up 130 percent for the month of June; there were 181 murders in the first six months compared to 147 last year.
According to The New York Times, as of Sunday, there had been 634 shootings in 2020, compared with 394 in the same period in 2019.
The Windy City has also seen a remarkable surge; it reached a grim milestone late last month when it saw 18 murders in one day – making May 31 the city’s deadliest day in 60 years.
Statistics released by CPD show that over the last six months homicide rates have seen an increase of about 34 percent since the same period last year, and shootings are also up by 42 percent.
"Well, if you're talking about Seattle and any of those things, I think when he talks about peaceful protestors and anything that is not peaceful, that covers all of those zones that you're talking about," Richmond said, referring to Seattle's former autonomous "cop-free" zone. " And, it talks about those people who are infiltrating peaceful marches with violence and destruction. They are not a part of the solution. And so, I think that he has spoken to it."
"OK, I didn't hear that," Kilmeade responded.
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Richmond said that Biden would take questions "and he will do all of those things as soon as it's safe to do it."
"But, he did it two weeks ago, and he will continue to do it on the campaign," he concluded.