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Republicans, including Donald Trump, have constantly tried to push the narrative that former vice president Joe Biden wants to defund the police, which is a far-left Democrat agenda. Republican congressman Steve Scalise’s attempt in pushing the narrative has since been met with backlash following posting a manipulated interview of the former vice president.
The Daily Mail reports that Twitter flagged Scalise’s video as “manipulated media” over the weekend, following the backlash Scalise received from health care activist Ady Barkan, who interviewed Biden. In the interview, Barkan, who suffers from ALS and uses special equipment to speak, asked the Democratic candidate if he supports redirecting some of the funding for police departments to public safety as well as mental health, to which Biden said yes.
In the manipulated video, Scalise inserts the words “for police” into Barkan’s question. Following the tweet, Barkan called Scalise out and asked to take down the video as well as apologize to the entire disability community. “These are not my words. I have lost my ability to speak, but not my agency or my thoughts. You and your team have doctored my words for your own political gain. Please remove this video immediately. You owe the entire disability community an apology,” tweeted Barkan.
Scalise initially defended the decision to post the video, insisting that on both versions, the former vice president wanted to defund the police. Biden has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the agenda, which has garnered him criticism from the far-left Democrats. Biden also condemned Scalise following the controversy on Twitter, as did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Liz Jaff, Barkan’s co-founder of the Be A Hero PAC.
Biden traveled to Pennsylvania to address the ongoing protests that are happening in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and in Portland, Oregon, refuting Trump’s accusations that the former vice president is against law enforcement. In his address, Biden condemned the violence that has come from the protests and reasoned that it is not the right way to bring change.
“Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting. It’s lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted. Violence will not bring change. It will only bring destruction. It is wrong in every way,” said Biden.
