El-Sayed Defends ‘Defund the Police’ Remarks on CNN

Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed pushed back against CNN’s focus on his past comments regarding “defunding the police,” arguing the network was fixated on a single word rather than the substance of his proposals for public safety and community investment.

During an appearance on CNN’s “Inside Politics,” host Manu Raju pressed El-Sayed on a resurfaced radio interview from the aftermath of the 2020 George Floyd protests. In the clip, El-Sayed stated, “I believe that we do need to defund the police insofar as defunding the police is disinvesting in the means of incarcerating or killing them on the streets.” He further elaborated, “And in investing more in the means of educating and empowering, engaging communities with the means of being able to take on systemic poverty, that we’ve allowed systematic racism to allow to fester in too many communities.”

When questioned about these remarks, particularly in light of previous statements where he reportedly denied supporting the defund movement, El-Sayed sought to clarify his position.

Defining ‘Defund’

El-Sayed contended that his use of the term “defund” was always accompanied by a specific definition, emphasizing a reallocation of resources rather than a complete dismantling of law enforcement. “You know, what’s interesting about that comment is I go as far as defining what I mean by that,” he told Raju. “Do you disagree with investing in libraries and public services and social services?”

He drew a parallel to military surplus, suggesting that the focus on the word “defund” overshadowed a broader discussion about how resources are allocated. “What I’m talking about is war material that we made too much of during the war in Iraq. And then, because we had too much of it, we had to find somewhere to sell it. So we sold it to a whole bunch to local police departments,” El-Sayed explained.

The candidate asserted his belief in supporting law enforcement through means such as investing in retention and retirement benefits, noting his past work with law enforcement in Wayne County. He argued that the core issue wasn’t about eliminating police but about rethinking their role in addressing societal problems.

Electability and Public Safety

Raju then questioned whether the “defund the police” issue could pose a challenge to El-Sayed’s electability in November. El-Sayed disagreed, stating, “I actually don’t think it is.” He expressed confidence that most people prioritize safety and agree that law enforcement shouldn’t be the sole response to every social issue.

“I think the way that we have thought about law enforcement is we answer every social problem with somebody with a gun,” El-Sayed observed. “And you talk to folks in law enforcement with whom I’ve worked very closely, they’ll tell you they don’t want to go on those runs where they know that somebody is in mental crisis.”

He proposed an alternative approach: “So maybe instead of investing in war material for police, we invest in a safe retirement for them. And then, instead of sending a guy with a gun, we actually send a trained mental health professional.”

El-Sayed reiterated that this vision represented his definition of the concept and what he believed the public truly desired. “That‘s what I‘m talking about. That’s what I defined. And I think that’s exactly what people want,” he stated. “Now, if you want to keep talking about one particular word that was in vogue that I tried to define at the time, sure. But I think if we’re having a serious conversation about public safety, you’ll see that my perspective is in keeping with exactly what most people who are rational about this question are talking about, and what they want.”

Past Statements and Campaign Stance

The discussion also touched upon El-Sayed’s past social media activity. Prior to his Senate campaign, several tweets criticizing law enforcement spending were deleted. One such June 2020 post read, “Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty & WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, & housing to eliminate poverty. Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about.”

When confronted with these tweets earlier in the month, El-Sayed reportedly denied participating in efforts to defund the police. He defended his record by saying, “Judge me by my work, I funded the system because it needed to be funded.” He characterized the public discourse as often presenting a false dichotomy: “Too often the conversation we have is fund or defund. The question that we don’t ask is, what kind of system do we really want? I want us to be investing in the kinds of interventions that actually protect people.”

El-Sayed’s campaign has aimed to frame his approach as a call for smarter investment in public safety, emphasizing community well-being and alternative crisis response methods over traditional policing alone.