Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., told Newsmax Thursday that President Joe Biden's United We Stand Summit, held Thursday at the White House, was missing the mark when it came to addressing voter concerns.
"We're all against hate crimes," Kustoff said during an appearance on Newsmax's "American Agenda." "Nobody supports antisemitism, but this is another example where Joe Biden's tone deaf because, when you look at the issues all around the country, it's really all about violent crime.
"Violent crime has spiked in the last year and a half," the Tennessee Republican continued. "I'm from Memphis. We have seen a terrible wave of violent crime in the Memphis area, Chicago, other big cities. Let's see the administration and Democrats focus on combating violent crime."
According to the White House, Biden's summit aims to "counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety, highlight the response of the Biden-Harris Administration and communities nationwide to these dangers, and put forward a shared, bipartisan vision for a more united America."
Kustoff asked why a summit wasn't being held to talk about "giving more money to police departments so that they can hire more police?"
"Biden's got it wrong, Pelosi's got it wrong, Schumer's got it wrong," he said. "We've been waiting for two months in the House of Representatives to vote on extra police funding and it's Nancy Pelosi's decision when to schedule that vote. The problem is that she's got progressives in her own party that don't support it."
As for a "bipartisan vision for a more united America," Kustoff said he hasn't seen that from Biden.
"[In] his inauguration speech, he talked about bipartisanship, he talked about unity, and we're all in favor of that," the Volunteer State congressman said. "But the legislation he's pushed — the big American Rescue Plan last year, the $1.9 trillion passed on party line vote, the bill that he calls the Inflation Reduction Act, almost $750 billion — that's not bipartisan.
"That's strictly partisan," he continued. "Coupled with that, that speech he gave two weeks ago where he came off in Philadelphia looking up very angry and probably old as well. That does not unify the country. He's pushing everybody into their respective corners."
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