MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough repeatedly asked Chicago Mayor Brandon Johndson on Tuesday morning whether more police on the streets could make the city safer. Johnson said he would prefer more affordable housing.

‘MORNING JOE’ SCARBOROUGH: You’ve told me everything else you want. I’m curious – and this does come down to an ideological difference between people. Do you believe the streets of Chicago would be safer if there were more uniformed police officers on the streets of Chicago? MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON: I believe the city of Chicago, and cities across America, would be safer if we actually had affordable housing. JOE SCARBOROUGH: Look, I’m not saying – that’s not the question I asked. My question is, and I just need a yes or a no: do you believe the streets of Chicago would be safer if you got all of those other extraordinary programs put back into place, which do have a history of being successful, and that’s complemented by having 5,000 more cops on the streets of Chicago? BRANDON JOHNSON: I don’t believe that we should narrow it down to just police officers. That is an antiquated approach. I’m saying we’ve invested in detectives- JOE SCARBOROUGH: Are you hearing what I’m saying? I’m agreeing with you that all of these other social programs are extraordinarily important. I just need a yes or a no, and then this will be the last time I ask. If you get all of those other social programs – that $ 800 million that New York City does, Los Angeles, other cities do with great success – would an additional 5,000 cops on the streets in Chicago help complement those programs to make Chicago safer? BRANDON JOHNSON: Look, we are working hard to make sure that our police department is fully supported. I don’t believe that simply putting out an arbitrary number around police officers is the answer. What I’m saying is: policing and affordable housing. It’s policing and mental and behavioral healthcare services. It’s policing and youth employment. It’s a full package. Of course, we want to make sure that our police department is fully supported. That’s why I’ve invested in our detectives bureau – because what we have seen in the city of Chicago is that when we solve crime, it serves as a deterrent. It’s policing and all of the other efforts that we’re doing. Here’s the last thing I’ll say to that: the federal government could work stronger to coordinate with my police department to get guns off the streets of Chicago. We’ve seen these coordination efforts work. Just a couple of weeks ago, working with my police department, we removed over 150 guns off the streets of Chicago that were trafficked in through Mississippi and Indiana. No one is saying that police officers don’t play an incredible role in driving safety. They play an absolutely pivotal role. But we have asked law enforcement to do too much. Police officers are being asked to be social workers, counselors. What I’m simply saying is: if we’re going to build safe and affordable cities across America, the one thing that safe communities all have in common is that they invest in people. We have a poverty issue in the city of Chicago and in cities across America. Police officers alone will not put food on the table. Police officers alone will not guarantee a high-quality education. Police officers won’t drive down unemployment. We need all of it. The President of the United States and the federal government could restore Medicaid. They could restore SNAP. They could stop defunding our public education system. Here’s the most important point. Justice Brandeis, over 100 years ago, the first Jewish American to sit on the Supreme Court, said that we could either have a democracy or wealth in the hands of the concentrated few – but we cannot have both. We are fighting for our democracy and our humanity right now. This president’s nescience toward the Constitution will leave irrevocable harm on posterity. That’s why, as mayor of the city of Chicago, we are standing up to tyranny – and American cities across this country are doing the same.

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