Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) addressed New York Attorney General Letitia James saying New Yorkers no longer trust members of the New York Police Department to do their jobs fairly.
Zeldin said James’ “broad statement” about New Yorkers’ disdain for law enforcement is “just not accurate.” He also called on leaders to extol law enforcement rather than “eroding” law enforcement with their rhetoric.
“That’s a broad statement. Really, she shouldn’t be speaking for the entire state,” Zeldin stated. “When you say New Yorkers, you might get an impression that all New Yorkers feel that way. I don’t even believe that most New Yorkers feel that way. And I also think it’s important for individuals … to be communicating with the public to support law enforcement and to send a strong message that we are for rule of law, we’re for safety and security, we’re for peace and prosperity and actually build more support up for law enforcement. So. I would take it one step further than just say you shouldn’t be making a broad-based statement like that because it’s just not accurate.”
He continued, “I feel like the message that’s being sent should be building up more support for law enforcement and not supporting the narrative of eroding it. When they say ‘Defund the Police,’ the protests are going a lot further than just that rhetorically. It’s a lot of expletives, often up in the face of police using language that I can’t repeat obviously here on air. So, the demoralizing towards the profession is coming in many ways beyond the physical assaults and going after their budget. It’s also been the way that the leaders don’t seem to have law enforcement’s back as these protesters are trying to tear them down in very personal ways.”
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