House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn on Sunday blamed the “defund the police” slogan for some Democratic losses in Congress — as he took aim at his party’s progressive wing.
The South Carolina lawmaker told NBC’s “Meet the Press” he believed Republicans used the liberal protest slogan to batter their Democratic opponents — citing the loss of his former aide Jaime Harrison to incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham in his home state.
“Jaime Harrison started to plateau when ‘Defund the Police’ showed up with a caption on TV right across his head,” Clyburn told host Chuck Todd.
“That stuff hurt Jaime. And that’s why I spoke out against it a long time ago,” Clyburn added. “I’ve always said that these headlines can kill a political effort.”
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