Charles Barkley Blasts ‘Defund the Police’ and ‘No ICE’ Talk as ‘Stupidest’ Ideas He’s Heard

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley took aim at the Democratic Party’s left flank in a new interview with Chris Cuomo, calling calls to abolish ICE, close prisons and embrace socialism among the most foolish political positions he has encountered.

Barkley, who has long described himself as a political independent despite voting Democratic for most of his life, said he refuses to pretend his party is beyond criticism just to stay in good standing on television.

“Listen, I’m an independent who’s voted Democratic most of the time. You think I’m going to get on TV and kill my credibility saying every Democrat – like, some of these people out here talking about no ICE, no prison, using words like socialism,” Barkley told Cuomo.

He went further, questioning what society would look like without basic law enforcement and incarceration.

“No, I don’t believe in that. Wait, no cops? I think that’s some of the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard. What are we going to do without cops? What are we going to do without prisons?” he said.

Barkley said he has watched a number of Democratic politicians push ideas he considers indefensible.

“I’ve seen some of these politicians, and I’m like, ‘this is the stupidest shit ever.’ And all of them have been Democrats. I think that’s some of the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard,” he said.

Despite the sharp criticism, Barkley did not call for ICE to be eliminated. Instead, he argued the agency should sharpen its focus on criminal offenders while leaving hard-working immigrants alone.

“Now, ICE has to do a much better job. Much better job. We can’t just let people come across the border. We can’t do that. But ICE has to do a better job,” he said.

Barkley also voiced support for immigrants broadly and for voter identification requirements.

“We need immigrants in this country. They’re some of the most amazing, hard-working people in the world. Now, we need to get rid of the crooked immigrants. You need to have ID when you go vote,” he concluded.