MSNBC's Ruhle Whines to Dem: Americans Don't Get 'Defund Police' 'Empowers' Police!

July 2nd, 2021 12:30 PM

MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle may as well be working for the Biden administration. With the help of Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison on her Friday morning show, the liberal hack repeated the same blatant lies Press Secretary Jen Psaki has been spinning from the White House podium about which party is actually for defunding the police.

Before that though, Ruhle panicked to the DNC chair about the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Arizona’s election security laws. "Our highest court in the land just gave a green light to restrictive voting bills," she whined to Harrison, adding that his party can't "challenge the Supreme Court" so "what are you going to do about it?"

After this, Ruhle kept attacking the GOP by turning to their “messaging” on crime. She brought up the New York City mayoral race, with retired police officer Eric Adams, who’s against defunding the police, leading the Democrat primary. She worried to the DNC chair that his party’s messaging on crime and law enforcement wasn’t resonating with voters.

“He said that the Democrat party needs to pay attention to New York or you're going to be in trouble. How do you have a big tent party without turning off voters that you need to win?” she fretted.

 

 

The DNC chair tried to make the same absurd argument the Biden administration has been making, that Republicans are the ones who want to take away funding for law enforcement because they didn’t support Biden’s massive stimulus bill:

The Republican party likes to talk a lot. Right now they are talking about defunding the police. But who really is defunding the police? In the American rescue plan, Stephanie, we have $350 billion to go to our cities and many of those cities under the authority of President Biden are using those resources to fund their police departments. And guess what, not one Republican--not one Republican voted for it.

Ruhle rushed in to agree. “I’m with you,” she assured her guest, before worrying how Democrats were going to convince Americans to believe that, when Republicans had misled Americans to believe defunding the police actually meant...defunding the police. 

The pompous journalist griped to Harrison that Americans don’t understand Democrats’ defunding the police goals actually “enhance and empower law enforcement”:

I'm with you. But how are you going to convince the American people of that? Right? You have Republicans that are not supporting a commission on the insurrection which is all about law and order. But Republicans have co-opted this idea that defund the police means wiping out police forces when what it really does is enhance and empower law enforcement. But you and I both know that that message is not translating correctly across a lot of American homes. 

The DNC chair further demeaned Americans by saying Americans just needed to see how the Dems’ defund the police was working, by “showing instead of telling”:

And so that is what you've seen in the DNC, to go out there and show the policies of Joe Biden and how they impact families and communities across this country. And we are talking about it. Billboards. I mean this weekend, we have planes flying over beaches that they are talking about Democrats delivering. We even have an ice cream truck that’s talking about shots in arms and everything else. We'll use every creative measure that we can to deliver for the American people and to show them that there’s only one party is standing up for them and that is the Democrat party.

So, for both Harrison and Ruhle, is the rising crime across several major cities a sign Biden's plan is working?

Read a partial transcript below:

MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle
06/02/2021
9:42 a.m. Eastern

STEPHANIE RUHLE: And I want to ask you about those important issues and Democratic messaging. Eric Adams had a tough on crime message in New York City. Now he is leading the race to be New York's next mayor. He said that the Democrat party needs to pay attention to New York or you're going to be in trouble. How do you have a big tent party without turning off voters that you need to win?

JAIME HARRISON: In the end of the day it is about delivering for the American people. The Republican party likes to talk a lot. Right now they are talking about defunding the police. But who really is defunding the police? In the American rescue plan, Stephanie, we have $350 billion to go to our cities and many of those cities under the authority of President Biden are using those resources to fund their police departments. And guess what, not one Republican--

RUHLE: But then how are you going -- 

HARRISON: Not one Republican voted for it.

[cross-talk]

RUHLE:  I'm with you. But how are you going to convince the American people of that? Right? You have Republicans that are not supporting a commission on the insurrection which is all about law and order. But Republicans have co-opted this idea that defund the police means wiping out police forces when what it really does is enhance and empower law enforcement. But you and I both know that that message is not translating correctly across a lot of American homes. 

HARRISON:  You know, one of the things that -- 

RUHLE: Messaging matters.