More On:
crime
Two hurt in separate NYC shootings overnight, cops say
Man, 65, pummeled by stranger on NYC subway train, cops say
Man drags woman into woods, strangles her in broad daylight: NYPD
Dems pushing police farce that GOP’s behind defunding
Americans are giving President Biden dismal ratings on his handling of rising crime, a new poll found.
The ABC News/Washington Post poll released Friday morning revealed that just 38 percent of Americans approve of the 46th commander-in-chief’s response to recent crime spikes nationwide.
On the other side, 48 percent said they disapproved.
As crime rates have continued to surge, lawmakers have been quick to point fingers to avoid their party taking blame.
Republicans have largely argued that Democrats’ efforts to defund the police, remove qualified immunity for police officers and introduce cashless bail have all contributed to the budding crisis.
Democrats, meanwhile, have blamed guns and economic hardship following the pandemic.
In New York, state officials have blamed a surge in shootings on gun trafficking from other parts of the country, largely ignoring the impact of bail reform on the state.
Murders increased by about 25 percent nationwide in 2020. As of late May, New York City had 17.4 percent more murders, 73 percent more shootings and 24.9 percent more car thefts than at the same point in May 2020.
The ABC/WaPo poll found that Americans were divided almost evenly on which party to trust to combat crime, with Republicans beating Democrats 36 to 35 percent, respectively.
Twenty percent said that they did not trust either party to handle the issue.
The poll also revealed that the number of Americans who saw crime as an extremely serious problem was at a 20-year high of 28 percent.
That number expands to 59 percent when those who called it very serious — as opposed to extremely — are added to the tally.
As for solutions, 75 percent of poll participants said that increasing funding for economic opportunities in poorer area would reduce crime, while 65 percent said using social workers to help police would make a difference.
Fifty-five percent pointed to increasing police funding as a solution, 51 percent said stricter enforcement of current gun laws and 46 percent said stricter gun laws.
Reps for President Biden did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the poll findings.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki has repeatedly asserted in recent weeks that crime increased “18 months” ago — despite the fact that side-by-side comparisons of the first five months of 2020 and 2021 demonstrate a significant jump in murders and car thefts.
Biden faces a political minefield on the issue of crime, especially ahead of the 2022 midterms.
Liberal and conservative pundits alike have been warning that soaring crime could wreck Democratic political fortunes, and potentially return former President Donald Trump to the White House.
Further complicating matters, Biden — once infamous for pushing or authoring laws in the 1980s and ’90s that disproportionately jailed blacks and sent some people to jail for life for marijuana — cannot risk alienating left-wing advocates who support the defund movement.
Share this article:
Source: Read Full Article
