'Absolute Madness': Mike Johnson Condemns Defund The Police Movements

7 months ago

At a House Republican press briefing on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke about supporting law enforcement.

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Transcript

00:00 (applause)

00:02 - Thank you all so much for being here.

00:04 It is an important day.

00:05 I do want to thank Sheriff Bianco.

00:07 Your words are very inspiring, Sheriff,

00:09 and the National Fraternal Order of Police President Yoes

00:12 for his words.

00:14 And of course, our dear friends,

00:15 as Steve pointed out, our colleagues here

00:17 who have worn the badge.

00:19 Clay Higgins and Pete Stauber and Anthony D'Esposito

00:22 and Mike Eazell and others in our conference

00:24 who have served in many capacities

00:26 and we're delighted that they're here now.

00:28 You see behind us standing here,

00:29 others who have worn the badge,

00:30 who have stood on that thin blue line

00:32 and put their lives on the line for everybody else.

00:34 And so we honor, we do this every day.

00:36 We look for new ways, the House Republicans,

00:39 to stand with law enforcement.

00:40 We stand with the men and women in blue.

00:43 We stand with all of our sheriffs and police officers,

00:46 our border patrol agents, our law enforcement officers

00:49 across the board in every capacity

00:51 because they are doing the hard thing.

00:53 They are doing the often difficult thing.

00:55 Increasingly, it is a difficult calling and vocation.

00:59 Today is Peace Officers Memorial Day, of course.

01:02 And so, as was mentioned earlier,

01:03 we pay tribute to all those

01:05 who out of that selfless sacrifice

01:07 have paid the ultimate price.

01:08 They've given their lives for our safety

01:11 and they have laid down their lives for others.

01:13 And that is the greatest blessing of all.

01:15 26,000 officers have died in the line of duty,

01:18 56 in America just this year alone.

01:21 And these officers exemplify the American spirit.

01:24 They are the best of us,

01:25 the best in every city and community.

01:27 They have pledged their own lives and their sacred honors

01:30 so that others may live in peace.

01:32 And we honor that.

01:33 And that's a biblical admonition

01:35 to give honor where honor is due,

01:37 especially on a week and on a day like this.

01:40 And this week, we pay tribute to those

01:42 who do clothe themselves with that dignity and decency

01:44 and who stand on the lines of justice and keep us safe.

01:47 So as Leader Scalise mentioned,

01:49 we'll be passing legislation on the floor

01:51 to make that clear

01:53 and to do everything we possibly can

01:54 to celebrate those officers

01:56 and to protect those who protect all of us.

01:59 And oftentimes it's a thankless job, as you know,

02:01 as has been mentioned today,

02:03 there are many people, too many people,

02:04 and often some elected officials in Washington

02:07 who have given voice to this idea

02:09 that we should defund the police

02:10 or have anti-police legislation or policy.

02:13 It's absolute madness.

02:15 And we are now seeing the completely foreseeable

02:18 results of that in communities around the country

02:21 with crime off the charts, violent crime rising,

02:25 and all of these problems with the open border,

02:26 all of it related together.

02:27 And the common denominator in all of it

02:31 is a disrespect for law and order,

02:33 as was mentioned earlier, for the rule of law.

02:35 And that is something that we have to maintain.

02:37 An FBI report just yesterday

02:39 has reported that the rate of assaults

02:41 on law enforcement officers in America

02:43 is at a 10-year high.

02:45 We have got to reverse that.

02:47 As the sheriff said earlier,

02:48 we've got to make crimes criminal again.

02:51 I mean, it's just common sense.

02:54 And I think everybody in the country

02:55 who looks at this objectively understands it.

02:57 Anybody who's not involved

02:59 in the radical, woke, progressive left

03:01 understands clearly that you gotta maintain the peace.

03:05 We are, this week on the House floor,

03:06 we'll be voting, for example,

03:07 other legislation to expand the concealed carry rights

03:10 of qualified police officers.

03:12 How many of you understand that

03:14 when the good guys are armed,

03:16 the bad guys do less harm, right?

03:19 We're gonna address anti-police attacks,

03:21 protect law enforcement in the line of duty,

03:22 support the mental health of those who serve

03:25 as police officers,

03:26 and we'll be voting to deport illegal aliens

03:29 who assault law enforcement.

03:31 Boy, we sure hope everybody votes for that one.

03:33 This ought to be easy.

03:35 This ought to be non-controversial.

03:37 And we're gonna make sure that everybody sees

03:39 where all of us in the House stand.

03:41 Our law enforcement officers keep us safe.

03:43 They put their lives on the line to do it,

03:44 and we are forever indebted.

03:46 And these gestures and these pieces of legislation

03:48 that we passed this week is the very least

03:50 that we can do to support them.

03:52 With that, we'll take a few questions.

03:54 Front row.

03:55 - So, I mean, the DOJ has been stonewalling on some--

'Absolute Madness': Mike Johnson Condemns Defund The Police Movements

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