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A spokesperson for Joe Biden put out a statement for the presumptive Democratic nominee, saying Joe Biden does not support defunding the police, as many have called for, but calls for police reform and more spending on public schools, summer programs, and health prgograms.

“As his criminal justice proposal made clear months ago, Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded. He hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change, and is driven to ensure that justice is done and that we put a stop to this terrible pain,” Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said.

“Biden supports the urgent need for reform — including funding for public schools, summer programs, and mental health and substance abuse treatment separate from funding for policing — so that officers can focus on the job of policing,” the statement continued.

The Trump campaign said that Biden is “complicit in this, he does not have the strength to stand up to the extremists because they’re now calling the shots in his party and he would contribute to the chaos.”

Tim Murtaugh, a Trump campaign spokesperson, said that it was “ludicrous” to fund $300 million into community policing “to somehow point to support for one program as being somehow a shield over this nationwide movement that has consumed his party.”

Later, on CBS Evening News, Biden reiterated his stance. “No, I don’t support defunding the police,” Biden told CBS’ Norah O’Donnell. “I support conditioning federal aid to police, based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorable ness. And, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community and everybody in the community.”

The remarks come in response to many calling for the defunding of police. Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” that the slogan calls for reinvesting funds to “the resources that our communities need.”

"So much of policing right now is generated and directed towards quality-of-life issues, homelessness, drug addiction, domestic violence," Garza said. "What we do need is increased funding for housing, we need increased funding for education, we need increased funding for quality of life of communities who are over-policed and over-surveilled."

Recently, a “Defund the Police” street art was painted by protestors after D.C. mayor added a “Black Lives Matter” lettering to the street.
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