Progressives criticize Obama for calling 'Defund the Police' a 'snappy slogan'

Former President Obama ignited a progressive firestorm when he said the "defund the police" movement was nothing more than a "snappy slogan."

In an interview Wednesday on Snapchat's "Good Luck America" TV show, Obama was asked: "If you're a young activist today and you believe really passionately in a slogan, like 'Defund the Police,' what is your advice to that activist?"

"If you believe, as I do, that we should be able to reform the criminal justice system so that it's not biased and treats everybody fairly, I guess you can use a snappy slogan, like 'defund the police.' But you lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you're actually going to get the changes you want done," Obama responded.

"But if you instead say, 'Hey, you know what? Let's reform the police department so that everybody's being treated fairly.' And not just in policing, but in sentencing, how can we divert young people from getting into crime? And if there was a homeless guy, can maybe we send a mental health worker there instead of an armed unit that could end up resulting in a tragedy?" the former president continued.

"You know, suddenly a whole bunch of folks who might not otherwise listen to you are listening to you," he added. "So 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? And if you want to get something done in a democracy, in a country as big and diverse as ours, then you've got to be able to meet people where they are."

Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, one the House Democratic Caucus' most progressive members, disagreed with Obama's assessment of the defund movement.

“We lose people in the hands of police,” she tweeted. “It’s not a slogan but a policy demand. And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets us progress and safety.”

Michigan Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib, another member of the House progressive caucus, also disagreed.

"Rosa Parks was vilified & attacked for her civil disobedience," she tweeted. "She was targeted. It's hard seeing the same people who uplift her courage, attack the movement for Black lives that want us to prioritize health, funding of schools & ending poverty, rather than racist police systems."

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley also weighed in, saying she's "out of patience" with criticism of the language activists used. 

"The murders of generations of unarmed Black folks by police have been horrific," Pressley tweeted. "Lives are at stake daily so I’m out of patience with critiques of the language of activists. Whatever a grieving family says is their truth. And I’ll never stop fighting for their justice & healing."

Rep.-elect Cori Bush, D-Mo., said the defund is not a slogan but a "mandate for keeping our people alive."

"With all due respect, Mr. President – Let’s talk about losing people. We lost Michael Brown Jr. We lost Breonna Taylor," she tweeted. "We’re losing our loved ones to police violence. It’s not a slogan. It’s a mandate for keeping our people alive. Defund the police." 

But others agreed with Obama, saying supporting the "defund the police" movement cost Democrats votes in the November elections.

“I think the ability, using terms like ‘defund the police,’ have led to Democratic losses in this last year,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)  said during a WAMU interview.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House majority whip and highest-ranking black lawmaker in Congress, also said the slogan could make support for Black Lives Matter and other movements fall.

“I came out very publicly and very forcibly against sloganeering,” Clyburn said during an interview on CNN.