U.S. Attorney General William Barr publicly blasted radical-left billionaire George Soros for creating criminal chaos in cities around the country via his financial support of anti-police district attorneys in key elections.

In a Fox News interview aired Friday evening on “The Story with Martha McCallum,” Barr talked about the need to provide greater support for our police officers nationwide. And he specifically called out Soros for targeting local elections where historic low voter turnout numbers enable his financial-political clout to sway results in ways that are leading to increases in violent crime.

“There’s been this recent development where George Soros has been coming in largely in democratic primaries where there are not going to be much voter turnout and putting in a lot of money to elect people who are not very supportive of law enforcement, and don’t view the office as bringing to trial and prosecuting criminals, but pursuing other social agendas. They have started to win in a number of cities and they have, in my view, not given the proper support to the police. They are following policies that are ultimately going to lead to an increase in violent crime and more victims.”

Examples of the Soros effect are disturbingly prevalent. In St. Louis, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other cities, his hand-picked prosecutors are laying waste to the rule of law.

“What do you think has been fueling anti-cop feeling in some parts of the United States?” McCallum asked the attorney general.

“It’s a mystery to me,” Barr replied. “When you stop and think about it, we rely so much on our police to keep us safe. We learned a lesson after Vietnam that our heroes who fight in our wars to protect us to deserve our respect. At least we now show them the respect they are due.

“But when you stop and think about it, the police are doing that also and they have the toughest job in the United States,” he continued. “There is no job tougher than being a policeman. We don’t seem to show them the same respect and recognize the sacrifices they make. It’s a heavy toll in that job, and I’ve been trying to point out that in a full-employment economy, there are a lot of other options for these people. We can’t take for granted that there are always going to be people of this character who are willing to step up and take these jobs and there is a shortage of police around the country.

“So I think as a country, just as we did soul-searching after Vietnam about how we treat our military, I think we have to do some soul-searching about how we treat our police.”

Barr also talked about an Italian dinner he hosted in New York City for the NYPD. Barr grew up in New York and said that “there’s no more noble job than serving as a police officer.” He told McCallum that he wanted to “convey to them the respect I have and the appreciation I have for the job they do.”

Watch a clip of the Barr interview:



Video by Fox News