A Conversation with Senator Tom Cotton: Effective Policing and the Rule of Law

America is in the midst of a national conversation on policing. In the wake of George Floyd's death, protests broke out across the country, with some escalating into civil unrest. Now the U.S. Congress, along with many cities and states, are debating the best path forward. Should funding be redirected away from police departments and into social services? What role should Congress play in this traditionally local issue?

Senator Tom Cotton has emerged as a leading voice on criminal justice issues, defending the essential role of well-staffed, well-trained, and well-respected police departments in upholding the rule of law, and pushing back on calls to "defund the police." When Senator Cotton published an op-ed in the New York Times calling on the Trump Administration to deploy the National Guard in the event that cities were unable to curb rioting, it set off a contentious debate about ideological diversity in media.

On July 20, Senator Tom Cotton joined Manhattan Institute president Reihan Salam for a discussion on the future of policing in America and the challenges of public debate in an age of polarization.

[gertituzi]

Good interview, clear and concise. A bit too lively, but good.

[greenjihad]

Reihan Salam was asked by someone on Facebook if he condemned Hamas and he avoided answering the question. Does he?

[castlewindsor]

San Francisco was very unsafe before Covid. You couldn’t even walk through Market Street, drug adiicts using and selling drugs everywhere. And it’s the most expensive city in America.

[donnanutt]

I thought Martha Stewart was in a federal prison?