Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivered a speech at the national council meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday, September 6. He received the endorsement of the largest police union in the United States.
Trump promised that if he wins in November, he will sign legislation to strengthen protection for police officers and combat “Marxist prosecutors,” particularly in the areas of Philadelphia and Los Angeles. He proposed increasing police immunity and restoring proven crime control and prevention strategies, implementing the broken windows theory, and encouraging law enforcement to conduct stop-and-frisk measures during enforcement processes.
“In your help, we will restore public safety on the streets, rebuild law and order in our country, and give the blue heroes the legitimate power to protect us, deserving more respect than any other group,” Trump said.
He also proposed harsher penalties for criminal behavior, such as imposing a minimum 10-year mandatory sentence for human traffickers, life imprisonment for child traffickers, and the death penalty for those who kill police officers. Additionally, he reiterated a plan for mass deportation of illegal immigrants, which Trump expects to be carried out by local law enforcement agencies.
During his speech, Trump praised former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for implementing stop-and-frisk strategies that effectively maintained local security in New York City. However, this policy was ruled by a federal judge in 2013 to potentially violate the U.S. Constitution with stops, questions, and searches based on reasonable suspicion.
When addressing his primary opponent, Kamala Harris, Trump accused her of displaying radical behavior during her tenure as a district attorney in San Francisco and referred to her as an extreme left-wing prosecutor.
Trump criticized Harris for publicly supporting fundraising activities to help arrested protesters pay bail during nationwide protests sparked by the 2020 George Floyd case, calling it aiding violence and being overly lenient on crimes. He also accused Harris of seriously neglecting border security and ignoring the crime issues brought by illegal immigrants in recent years.
FOP President Patrick Yoes stated in a declaration, “Public safety and border security will be crucial issues in the final months of this election campaign. Our members have carefully considered the candidates’ positions on these issues, and without a doubt – zero doubt – they want Donald J. Trump to serve as the president for the next four years.”
“If we want to maintain these lower crime rates, we must re-elect Trump,” Yoes said.
The Fraternal Order of Police has over 375,000 police members and has supported Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
In response, the Democratic Party and Kamala Harris’s campaign team emphasized that violent crime rates during President Biden’s term have also decreased. FBI data shows a significant reduction in violent crime in early 2024 compared to the same period last year.
The Biden administration also highlighted federal funding support for local police departments, rebutting Trump and some Republicans’ accusations that the Democratic Party is attempting to cut police funding.