Nice try, Democrats. Every American citizen with an IQ above room temperature knew immediately that their “Republicans defunded the police” sleight-of-hand was an absurdity, a desperate falsehood in the face of mounting public opinion against their party’s anti-cop, pro-crime rhetoric. And yet they persisted. Even Joe Biden’s White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, tried to propagate the lie.

Alas, it was a bridge too far even for their Leftmedia lickspittles, and yesterday their ruse officially crashed and burned when the Washington Post’s “fact-checker” gave Psaki’s ridiculous claim three Pinocchios. We think she was straight-up robbed of the fourth, but, hey, it’s The Washington Post.

How did all this happen? At a June 23 press briefing, Psaki tried to argue that because Republicans had voted against Joe Biden’s whopping $1.9 trillion so-called “American Rescue Plan,” they were guilty of defunding the cops. “That was voted into law by Democrats just a couple of months ago,” Psaki said. “Some might say that the other party was for defunding the police; I’ll let others say that, but that’s a piece.”

Some might say, eh? Clearly, she knew she was on thin ice.

It took a while, but as the Post’s Salvador Rizzo correctly noted Tuesday: “Although Republicans all opposed Biden’s coronavirus relief package, no one voted to cut, or defund, anything. Rather, Democrats proposed $350 billion in emergency funds for state and local governments, and Republicans voted against those extra funds. That’s not a reduction.”

Of course, the Democrats’ troubles began long before Psaki’s nose started growing. They were calling for the defunding of the police during last year’s Black Lives Matter riots. Emblematic of their outbursts was this one from New York Congresswoman and “Squad” member Sandy, er, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “Defunding police means defunding police. It does not mean budget tricks or funny math.”

That’s pretty unequivocal, no?

And there was more — much, much more — as compiled by the folks at GOP.com. It’s said that a fish rots from the head, and Joe Biden proved the point when he euphemistically called for “reallocating police resources.” Elsewhere, Vice President Kamala Harris said she “applauds” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti for defunding his city’s police, and another time said, “We have to reimagine public safety.”

Then there was South Carolina Congressman and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, who compared federal law enforcement to the Gestapo, and later ignored looting and arson in the nation’s capital while claiming that the only violence he saw there was from police.

Finally, there was Minnesota Congresswoman and “Squad” member Ilhan Omar, who represents George Floyd’s still-smoldering Minneapolis district. “Not only do we need to disinvest in the police,” she declared, “but we need to completely dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department.”

But, sure, it’s the Republicans who’ve been beating the drum to defund the cops, and it’s the Republicans who’re responsible for the nationwide surge in violence, and it’s the Republicans who’re to blame for the plummeting of police morale and the mass exodus of cops from the streets.

As the Post’s Rizzo gently concluded, “Voting against a one-time infusion of cash is not the same as voting to cut funding, so there is little basis to claim that Republicans are trying to ‘defund the police.’”

Our Mark Alexander put the lie to this assertion earlier this month, but it bears repeating. And repeating. And repeating. Because not a single American voter should be left to believe it. The Democrats and their fellow leftists declared war on the cops. They own it, and they deserve to reap the whirlwind.