Congressional candidate blasts Biden for ignoring Marist dad shooting while touting economic gains in his city
A gunman opened fire in the lobby of a Poughkeepsie hotel, striking a parent of a Marist College student
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York congressional candidate Colin Schmitt tore into President Biden on Thursday for touting job creation and economic progress during a visit to his city while failing to address the crime crisis and a recent shooting that left the New York suburb reeling days earlier.
Biden visited IBM's site in Poughkeepsie, New York, on Thursday to highlight the corporation's plan to invest $20 billion across the state's Hudson Valley region over the next 10 years. His visit came days after a homeless felon allegedly gunned down Paul Kutz, 53, in a Poughkeepsie hotel lobby who was in town visiting his son, a Marist College student.
In an interview on "Fox & Friends First" Thursday morning, Schmitt blamed the president and Democrats for supporting a "criminals first" agenda, while largely ignoring the rise in crime that has overtaken American communities.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIDEN TOURS NEW YORK IBM SITE AFTER COMPANY ANNOUNCES $20B INVESTMENT
Police vehicles outside of the Courtyard by Marriott seen on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 where Paul Kutz was shot and killed on Sunday. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital.)
"Joe Biden and House Democrats have put up forward a criminal's first agenda," Schmitt said. "It’s unacceptable. Here in New York and the Hudson Valley, we are suffering from those policies at the state level. We have the failed no-bail law, We’ve seen the Democrats and Biden turn their backs on law enforcement. And we have not only this horrendous situation that happened to the Marist family, but there were five shootings in the congressional district I'm running in the same weekend," he said.
"This is the suburbs of New York City. This is where families go to have safety and raise their families, and we are sick and tired of our leaders turning their back on law enforcement and first responders and making our communities less safe," Schmitt added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Schmitt said he expected the president to tout the administration's economic gains without addressing the shooting during his visit. Biden focussed his IBM tour on "American innovation," making no mention of the incident which took place just miles away. Poughkeepsie police arrested two men at the scene of Kutz's shooting, one of which is connected to another high profile shooting. Police reportedly also found bomb-making materials on the suspects.
President Biden speaks about inflation and supply chain issues. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Schmitt said the incident underscores how once-safe communities have been affected by the misguided criminal justice reform policies from Washington and local Democrats.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The failed New York State bail laws and the failed leadership from Washington is compounding our communities," he said. "I think we're seeing that everyone's working together, saying this is outrageous. Doesn't matter what community you're from, what your background is. We want safe communities. We want our law enforcement supported by all elected officials. We're not getting that right now," he said.
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Schmitt urged the public to push back on Election Day and vote to protect their safety.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There's one way we can send a message, and that's on November eighth," he argued, "by saying that we need to hold Joe Biden accountable and his supporters in Congress."