Eric Adams defends Biden’s record, says Republicans are the ones soft on crime
Ryan King
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams swooped to President Joe Biden‘s defense amid criticisms from Republicans on crime.
Seeking to neutralize the narrative that Republicans are strong on crime, Adams countered that the GOP has not always been supportive of increased funding for law enforcement and urged Democrats to begin fortifying their messaging on the matter.
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“They gave the appearance that Democrats are soft on crime. No, soft on crime is the Republicans who refused to put money in his crime bills to make sure that we gave the resources to our police department,” Adams said during the debut of MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki.
Adams, a former police officer, has made combating crime a top priority of his administration. He encouraged Biden and the Democrats to drive home the message that Democrats are tough on crime.
Recently, Democrats were rocked by the defeat of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in her reelection bid, making her the first incumbent to do so since 1989. Many analysts pegged crime as one of the major factors that contributed to her loss.
As the 2024 cycle heats up, Republicans sought to put Biden on the spot with a bill to overturn a Council of the District of Columbia crime reform that rolled back sentencing and other penalties on crime. Congress has the power to overturn district law via resolution. Biden ultimately opted not to veto the measure, and the city council moved to withdraw the legislation.
Biden’s move on the crime bill, approval of the Willow Project mass oil drilling venture, and recent actions on immigration have widely been viewed as a lurch to the center ahead of an expected 2024 reelection bid.
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“I think President Biden is a blue-collar president. Like I like to believe I’m a blue-collar mayor,” Adams added. “He’s a plain-talking producer. He has produced, and it’s unfortunate the noise is getting in the way of what he has to do … He needs to keep doing what he’s doing.”
Host Jen Psaki served as Biden’s White House press secretary from January 2021 until May 2022. Sunday’s show marked the formal debut of her new show, Inside with Jen Psaki, on MSNBC.