Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke claimed during his debate against Governor Greg Abbott that he does not support defunding the police.
Of course, O’Rourke was saying the exact opposite in 2020.
Tonight, Beto O’Rourke said he “of course” doesn’t support ‘Defunding the Police.’
In 2020, O’Rourke enthusiastically called for defunding and “completely dismantling” police departments.
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— Kyle Martinsen (@KyleMartinsen_) October 1, 2022
The governor has been blasting his challenger for his soft on crime positions.
“Beto’s approach to defund the police is an extraordinarily dangerous approach, a deadly approach,” Abbott said while speaking in Fort Worth earlier this month.
O’Rourke had called for “dismantling” police departments during his “Looking Ahead to Beto Days” podcast in June of 2020, during the Black Lives Matter riots over George Floyd.
“I really love that Black Lives Matters and other protesters have put this front and center, to defund, you know these line items that have overmilitarized our police and instead invest that money in the human capital of your community, make sure that you have the services, the help, the support, the health care necessary to be well and not require police intervention,” O’Rourke said. “And then also in some necessary cases, completely dismantling those police forces and rebuilding them.”
O’Rourke has claimed that he only meant the Minneapolis Police Department and not any Texas departments.
“This is a reoccurring problem that Beto has,” Abbott said in response, according to a report from CBS News. “He says one thing from running for one office and a completely different thing running for a different office.”
Abbott reportedly has the support of 17 law enforcement agencies in the state, as well as the Fort Worth and Austin Police Associations.
