Biden pivots to police funding after years of Dems' defund push
Jesse Watters and the panel on 'The Five' sound off on the White House trying to 'pay' off upset police departments.
President Biden's proposal to "fund the police" via a $13 billion proposal to hire 100,000 more law enforcement over five years that also calls for stiffer enforcement of gun laws is the equivalent of a derelict dad who pays off his children in hopes they will finally love him, Fox News host Jesse Watters said on "The Five" Thursday.
Watters pointed to numerous Democratic Party figures demanding governments "defund the police" over the past two years, and said their rhetoric and protests have helped drive down police recruitment, morale and effectiveness.
"This plan is just about money," Watters said. "[Biden is] just trying to pay off the police. But he's like one of those rich dads, the bad fathers, who have no relationship with their children but tries to buy their love and just showers them with presents."
Watters went on to point out several other crises the federal government has thrown money or resources at, such as the Afghanistan war, the public school system, and the war on drugs.
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President Biden wants the Democratic Party to be the party of law enforcement (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File)
"Has any of that gotten better by the Democrats just showering those problems with money? No," Watters added. "You have to win hearts and minds if you're a police officer and you volunteer to protect and serve."
Rebuilding police morale and constructive relationships with them will take years of effort, not a quick expenditure, Watters said, to which co-host Greg Gutfeld agreed.
"This is the party that eliminated jail time for large cities that were under like $900. This was a party that was pretty silent during the riots and often redefined [riots] as social justice. Right," Gutfeld said.
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He pointed to many Democratic jurisdictions' furtherance of the "Ferguson effect" where violent crime spikes after proactive police practices erode from public or political pressures or unrest, leaving an enforcement void.
Using New York as an example, Gutfeld said Democrats in that state have so far been unserious in supporting law enforcement or law and order – pointing to Gov. Kathleen Hochul's silence and lack of action against Soros-linked New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
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"We have a governor in New York who is allowing Alvin Bragg to continue," he said. "I would have… more respect for [Biden] if he did actually talk about no-cash bail. If he says we've got to get rid of that."
"I welcome the spending. I'm glad. I don't think they're doing this for America. I think they're doing it politically because an election is coming up."
Judge Jeanine Pirro, a former district attorney in White Plains, outside New York City, added there needs to be a return of stop-and-frisk practices, which she argued are not unconstitutional.
She called for further scrutiny of Hochul, Bragg, and other top New York Democrats like Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx.
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