Biden targets gun violence in New York City visit

President Joe Biden called for more funding for law enforcement and anti-violence programs during a visit Thursday to New York City to grapple with increasing crime.

Mayor Eric Adams joined Biden, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Merrick Garland on a stop by police headquarters in lower Manhattan, where they planned to attend a meeting on gun violence strategies between local and federal law enforcement.

“Mayor Adams, you and I agree: The answer is not to abandon our streets,” Biden said at NYPD headquarters. “The answer is not to defund the police. It’s to give you the tools, the training, the funding to be partners, to be protectors.”

Adams, a retired NYPD captain, said he and Biden are in lockstep. “Mr. President, Eric Adams is reporting for duty and ready to serve,” he said.