Tennessee Democrat Aftyn Behn confronted on past support for defunding police

Democratic congressional hopeful and Tennessee State Rep. Aftyn Behn confronted Sunday on MS NOW over past social media posts in support of defunding the police, with Behn refusing to clarify her own position.

“You posted some tweets in 2020 that were very critical of the police and they have since been deleted,” “Weekend” host Catherine Rampell said. “In your deleted tweets, you said the Metropolitan Nashville police department should be defunded. Another applauded the teachers union by saying defunding the police should be a mandate for schools to reopen, and another said, ‘Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans who believe burning down a police station is justified.'”

“2020 was obviously a very worrying year. Do you still stand by these comments? If not, is there anything you would like to clarify?” the host asked.

Behn, a Democratic state representative and former health community organizer, is running against Republican candidate Matt Van Epps to represent Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District. The winner will replace former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a job in the private sector.

DEM HOUSE HOPEFUL EXPOSED WEEKS BEFORE SPECIAL ELECTION AS FAR LEFT ACTIVIST WORKING TO Abolish POLICE

“I’m not going to get into cable news talking points, but I will say, you know, our communities need solutions,” Behn responded. “We need local people to make decisions and solve local problems with local solutions. And that’s not the overreach of the federal government or the state government that we’re dealing with in Nashville and our cities across the state of Tennessee.”

Rampell again pressed Behn to clarify his current position on police funding.

“Once again, I don’t remember these tweets,” Behn said.

Rampell continued: “I’m not asking if you remember. What is your position today? What is it like? On this?”

DEMOCRATIC AFTYN BEHN PROGRESSES TO SPECIAL ELECTION IN BATTLE FOR VACANCY CONGRESSIVE SEAT IN DEEP REJECTION DISTRICT

Matt Van Epps, Republican candidate for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, speaks to attendees before a debate with other candidates at the CabaRay Showroom in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Nicole Hester/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK, via Imagn Images)

“I mean, I’m here, once again, to talk about my race, which is literally nine days away, and to talk 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 aren’t going to be renewed to cover in-market healthcare. And that’s the salient issue that every single voter in the 7th Congressional District is talking about,” Behn said.

Located in central and western Tennessee, the area is completely red. Minister Donald Trump He carried it by 22 points in the 2024 White House victory.

But 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 he hopes to represent, in a 2020 podcast that resurfaced days before the Dec. 2 special election.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE NEWS ON MEDIA AND CULTURE

“I hate the city, I hate singles, I hate pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate everything that ostensibly makes Nashville the ‘it’ city for the rest of the country. But I hate it,” he said on the podcast.

MS NOW host Al Sharpton was asked about his remarks in a separate interview on Saturday; He said he and other Nashville locals are occasionally annoyed by tourists, but that doesn’t mean they don’t like the city. His defenders said his comments were taken out of context.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.