Democratic congressional hopeful and Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn was confronted on MS NOW on Sunday about her past social media posts expressing support for defunding the police, with Behn refusing to clarify her stance.
"In 2020, you made some tweets that have since been deleted that were very critical of police," "The Weekend" host Catherine Rampell said. "You said in those since-deleted tweets that the Metropolitan Nashville police department should be dissolved. Another cheered on a teachers union saying that defund the police should be a requirement for schools reopening, and another saying ‘Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified.’"
"2020 was obviously a very fraught year. Do you still stand by those comments? And if not, is there anything you want to clarify?" the host asked.
Behn, a Democratic state representative and former healthcare community organizer, is running against Republican nominee Matt Van Epps to represent Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. The winner will succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a job in the private sector.
"I’m not going to engage in cable news talking points, but what I will say is that, you know, our communities need solutions," Behn responded. "We need local people deciding, solving local problems with local solutions. And that’s not the overreach of a federal government or state government of which we are dealing with in Nashville and our cities across the state of Tennessee."
Rampell pressed Behn again to clarify her current position on police funding.
"Once again, I don’t remember these tweets," Behn said.
Rampell followed up: "I’m not asking you if you remember. What is your position today? How’s that? On this issue?"
"I mean, once again, I’m here to talk about my race, which is in literally nine days, and talking about affordability, which seems to be the number one issue across the district. Voters are talking about the fact that they can’t afford groceries, that their subsidies are not going to be renewed to afford healthcare on the marketplace. And that is the most salient issue that all of the voters in the 7th Congressional District are talking about," Behn said.
The district, located in central and western Tennessee, is solidly red. President Donald Trump carried it by 22 points in his 2024 White House victory.
However, the district includes parts of Democratic-leaning Nashville — Tennessee’s capital and most populous city, a national hub for country music and a major tourist destination.
The Democratic hopeful also criticized Nashville — the largest city in the district she hopes to represent — in a 2020 podcast that resurfaced days before the Dec. 2 special election.
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"I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an 'it' city to the rest of the country. But I hate it," she said on the podcast.
She was asked about those remarks by MS NOW host Al Sharpton in a separate interview on Saturday, where she said that she and other Nashville natives get annoyed at times by tourists, but that didn't mean she didn't love the city. Her defenders have said her comments were taken out of context.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.