Trump Interrupts Interview to Prove Biden Wants to Defund Police. It Did Not Go Well
The president is so motivated to push the false narrative that Joe Biden wants to defund the police that he may have started to believe it himself.
During a portion of an interview with Chris Wallace that will air in full this coming Sunday on Fox News, Trump insisted that “defund” and “abolish” the police language was included in an agreement signed by Biden and Bernie Sanders. It was not.
Trump: Biden wants to defund the police.
Wallace: Sir, he does not.
Trump: Look, he signed a charter with Bernie Sanders.
Wallace: It said nothing about defunding the police.
Trump: Oh, really? It says abolish. It says defund. Let’s go.
Trump then put a halt to the interview and looked over to his staff who were off-camera and asked for documents that would prove to Wallace that he was correct.
Wallace then explained what happened next. “So that led to a very interesting exchange where Trump had staff go out and get the highlights from that 100-page compact that the Biden team and the Sanders team had signed.”
Wallace continued, “And he went through it and he found a lot of things that he objected to that Biden has agreed to. But he couldn’t find any indication, because there isn’t any, that Joe Biden has sought to defund and abolish the police.”
Trump interrupts interview to show proof that Biden plans to defund the police. It did not go well pic.twitter.com/ZwEwFpmcOg
— Peter Wade 🤦♂️ (@brooklynmutt) July 17, 2020
According to CNN, the 110-page document was produced by surrogates and allies of both the Biden campaign and Senator Sanders. It covers multiple policy recommendations, including ones concerning criminal justice. But not once do the words “defund” or “abolish” the police appear in the text.
The president’s dislike of reading may explain his ignorance because it’s highly doubtful that he actually read the Biden/Sanders agreement. In fact, it is very possible that he heard this disinformation from one of the many dishonest media platforms he consumes. Or the president believes his own bullshit so fervently that he stopped the interview without realizing he’d easily be proven wrong, which is a scary but not implausible thought.