Barack Obama Receives Mixed Reactions Following “Defund The Police” Comments

Barack Obama

Barack Obama Receives Mixed Reactions Following “Defund The Police” Comments

Former President Barack Obama is receiving mixed reactions because of a statement that he made during an interview scheduled on Peter Hamby’s Snapchat show “Good Luck America”.

Obama addressed political candidates who use “snappy” slogans such as “defund the police,” when he said,

“You lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done.”

 

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He continued on,

“The key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?”

The phrase “defund the police” picked up traction during racial justice protests following the death of George Floyd earlier this year when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes. The death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other police involved killings of Black people caused the controversial phrase “defund the police” to become a large topic of debate amongst activists and in the political world.  In the bigger picture, the former president does believe, however, that we should reform the criminal justice system.

In the interview scheduled to be released Wednesday Dec 2, a transcript of Barack Obama’s full statement surrounding the topic is below.

Social media users have responded to the comments with mixed reviews.  Read some of the comments below.

Do you agree with former president Barack Obama?  Share your thoughts on his comments with us below.