Obama slams ‘Defund the police’ in online interview: ‘You lost a big audience the minute you say it’

Obama accused anti-police activists of trying to please one another – rather than a broader range of the public

By Dom Calicchio of Fox News. Excerpts:

"Former President Barack Obama had some harsh criticism for the “Defund the police” movement in an online interview scheduled to be released in three parts this week.

“You lost a big audience the minute you say it,” Obama said of the anti-police effort, adding that “snappy” slogans may draw attention but it “makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done.”

Obama made the remarks in a conversation with Peter Hamby, host of Snapchat’s “Good Luck America.” Part 1 of the three-part Obama interview is scheduled to be posted at 6 a.m. ET Wednesday, with the other parts set for release Thursday and Friday, Axios reported.

In the interview, Obama accused anti-police activists of trying to please one another – rather than push for policy changes that might appeal to a broader range of the public.

“The key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?” Obama told Hamby, according to Axios.

Obama’s former vice president, Joe Biden, alienated “defund the police” activists in the Democratic Party when he said during his presidential run that he didn’t support the effort – even though he claimed to support banning chokeholds and creating a national police oversight committee."

"But moderate Democrats including House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., have called the defund effort left-wing “foolishness,” and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, alleged it “hurt a lot of our candidates” in the Nov. 3 elections."