Biden Offered No Alternative to Trump’s Pro-Policing Authoritarianism in Debate
Biden Offered No Alternative to Trump’s Pro-Policing Authoritarianism in Debate
Biden did not put forth a progressive or convincing counterweight to Trump’s xenophobic and authoritarian tirades.
Donald Trump's overarching narrative for the debate was that Joe Biden has diminished U.S. power by opening the border and allowing millions of "Illegal immigrants" released "From prisons, jails and mental institutions" to come into the country to "Take our jobs," overwhelm our health care and Social Security systems, and rape and kill us.
Rather than pointing out Trump's utter lack of concern for people's well-being, Biden's rebuttal fell into the trap of trying to respond to Trump's tirades, allowing the former president to control the agenda and tone of the debate.
Trump used this as an opportunity to point out how little progress has been made under Biden and that Biden helped drive these disparities through his embrace of the "Superpredator" myth in the 1990s.
While many in the Biden administration and its key constituencies favor dialing back criminalization, they feel that it is politically impossible to state that clearly and openly, leaving the president to quietly support some good programs, while publicly leaning into a police-centered crime control strategy that will never be able to compete with Trump's undiluted authoritarianism.
Biden's weak policies and incoherent responses during the debate may give us another four years of Trump and his drive to turn the U.S. into a despotic kleptocracy.
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Garbage article. Trump passed a crime bill President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act into law in 2018, a bipartisan bill aimed at reforming the criminal justice system. The act was a significant step towards addressing the issues of mass incarceration, sentencing reform, and reentry programs.
Key Provisions:
Eliminated the “three strikes” life sentencing provision for some offenses Expanded judges’ discretion in sentencing for non-violent crimes Made the sentencing guidelines of the Obama-era Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive Required the Attorney General to develop a risk and needs assessment system to assess the recidivism risk and criminogenic needs of federal prisoners Provided funding for rehabilitative programs to help inmates successfully reenter societyImpact:
The First Step Act has helped to reduce the number of people in federal prison The act has also expanded access to rehabilitative programs, which has led to a decrease in recidivism rates The law has provided a second chance for many individuals who were previously incarcerated, allowing them to reintegrate into society and find employment