In The Know About Joe

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• In a jab at Donald Trump, Biden said, “You know, Barack and I never went down to the bunker. They tell me it had cobwebs from lack of use during our 8 years. Never actually seen the bunker. I called up Barack, he said he’s never seen it either.”

• Joe Biden says there’s “no more excuses” and if lawmakers have the time to confirm President Trump’s court nominees, they have time to immediately pass legislation to address police brutality, outlaw chokeholds, limit the transfer of “weapons of war” to police departments, and create a new oversight and accountability model for police, adding of Trump: “I just wished he’d open [the bible] once in a while instead of brandishing it.”

• Joe Biden does not support some calls to “defund the police,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign said Monday.

Biden backs advocates’ calls to increase spending on social programs separate from local police budgets, but he also wants more funding for police reforms such as body cameras and training on community policing approaches, campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.

“Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded,” Bates said. “He hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change, and is driven to ensure that justice is done and that we put a stop to this terrible pain.”

The campaign’s comment came as President Donald Trump and his campaign sought to tie Biden to calls to “defund the police,” which have emerged in recent days at protests over police brutality and the killing of George Floyd

• Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign launched a get out the vote initiative geared toward LGBTQ voters on Monday, an initiative that was announced as Pride Month is under way. 

The campaign said the program, known as Out for Biden, is being led by a steering committee that includes Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David, Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), along with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the first openly gay member of the Senate.

• Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) is among the women under consideration to be former Vice President Biden’s running mate, according to a new report. 

Politico reported on Monday that Bottoms, along with Florida Rep. Val Demings (D), are under consideration for the Democratic ticket.

• Joe Biden’s presidential campaign raised $3.5 million in a fundraiser co-hosted with Sen. Kamala Harris, a top contender to be the former vice president’s running mate this November.

• Former Vice President Joe Biden said systemic racism exists “across the board,” including in policing, in an interview with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell.

“Absolutely,” Biden said, asked whether there is systemic racism within law enforcement.

“It’s not just in law enforcement, it’s across the board. It’s in housing, it’s in education, and it’s in everything we do. It’s real. It’s genuine. It’s serious,”

• Biden wrote in an op-ed: “I’m proposing an additional $300 million to reinvigorate community policing in our country. Every single police department should have the money they need to institute real reforms”

• Also, in the op-ed, Biden said, “Donald Trump’s hate-filled, conspiracy-laden rhetoric is inflaming the racial divides in our country—but just fixing the way the president talks won’t cut it. We need to root out systemic racism and ensure Black Americans have a real shot to get ahead.”

• Joe Biden on Wednesday night had a blunt warning about President Trump and the lengths he would take to limit access to ballots in November, sharply escalating his rhetoric about his Republican rival five months before voters head to the polls.

“This president is going to try to steal this election,” Biden said in an interview on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.” Biden said of ensuring that the voting process is fair: “It’s my greatest concern, my single greatest concern.”

• Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday called for action to combat gun violence while marking the fourth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida: “Our places of worship have been attacked, Hispanics have been targeted in places like El Paso, the death toll from mass shootings continues to mount, and LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender women of color, are disproportionately targeted by violence.”