Joe Biden pushed back on President Donald Trump's suggestions that he wants to defund the police and that his mental fitness is lacking, saying the opposite is true on both fronts — and that Trump is the one who wants to make cuts to the nation's law enforcement community.
During a lengthy interview with ABC broadcast Sunday night, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, were asked about myriad topics as they take on Trump in the November election.
When asked if Biden is for defunding the police, the former vice president laughed and said, "No I don't."
"I don't want to defund police departments. I think they need more help, they need more assistance, but that, look, there are unethical senators, there are unethical presidents, there are unethical doctors, unethical lawyers, unethical prosecutors, there are unethical cops. They should be rooted out," Biden said.
Biden then accused Trump of wanting to slash funding to the police.
"By the way, he proposes cutting a half a billion dollars of local police support," Biden said.
According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration's 2020 budget proposal slashed funding to a Justice Department program that helps police departments hire new officers.
Regarding Trump's assertions that Biden is mentally not fit enough to serve as president, Biden was equally as assertive that his opponent is wrong.
"Watch me. Mr. President, watch me," Biden said. "Look at us both. Look at us both, what we say, what we do, what we control, what we know, what kind of shape we're in."
If Biden wins the election, he will be 78 when he is sworn in next January. That would make him the oldest president to take office in U.S. history. Trump was 70 when he was sworn in, the oldest president to date.
The question of mental fitness, Biden said, is "a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they're fit and whether they're ready. But I just, only thing I can say to the American people, it's a legitimate question to ask anybody. Watch me."
Harris, meanwhile, is the first Black woman to ever be on a major party's presidential ticket. Biden had said earlier this year he would select a female running mate.
During the ABC interview, Biden said he didn't feel pressure to nominate a woman of color amid the racial protests that have swept across the nation the last few months.
"No, I didn't feel pressure to select a Black woman," he said.
"The government should look like the people, look like the country. Fifty-one percent of the people in this country are women. As that old expression goes, 'women hold up half the sky,' and in order to be able to succeed, you've got to be dealt in across the board."
Other notable points that Biden made during the interview:
- He said wearing a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic is "about saving lives" and that he would mandate that all Americans wear one in public if he wins.
- He said he would shut down the economy like the Trump administration did earlier this year to help control the pandemic.
- He said he would raise taxes on Americans who make more than $400,000 a year.
- He said he is open to the possibility of serving two terms as president.
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