Donald Trump takes aim at Kamala Harris, says police are in ‘more danger than ever’

US : Former US President Donald Trump cautioned that the policies backed by Vice President Kamala Harris had put police officers in “more danger” than ever as he received the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) endorsement in North Carolina on Friday.

The police union said that it would support Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Trump thanked FOP president Patrick Yoes for the support and said he was “deeply honored” to be standing beside him at the Charlotte event.

Trump addressed the assembled officers, saying, “We know all about you and the great job that you do and the people of this country respect you greatly for it.”

“I see it, so I just wanted to say thank you on behalf of everyone.”

Trump did acknowledge the growing risks that law enforcement personnel face, saying, “We hate to see, but it’s probably also a profession that’s under more danger and threat than ever before.”

Trump bemoans the decline of city cores and retail thievery.

As of July 31, 2024, 223 officers had been shot while doing their duties, a tiny 2% drop from the previous year, according to the FOP. During the same time span, gunshots had claimed the lives of 31 cops. A record 378 cops were shot in 2023; 46 of them died as a result.

The former police chief also spoke on the difficulties faced by residents in high-crime areas and the cops who had been shot the previous evening in Milwaukee. He bemoaned the decline of metropolitan areas, citing the “graffiti,” “filth,” and widespread retail thievery that afflict New York and other such cities.

“We need to reclaim the authority and respect that police officers deserve above all others, as I visit the families of many of the cops who have departed from us. And we will carry it out,” the former president said.

In his speech to the assembled officers, Trump also said that he had the support of New York police officers, despite the fact that no NYPD union had released a statement in the public. They shouldn’t be allowed to. They answered, ‘We don’t care, we’re still supporting you,'” claimed Trump.

Trump contrasted “Kamala’s crime wave” with his own tough-on-crime stance at the endorsement ceremony. He outlined his plans for a “war on crime in America,” which include putting an end to drug gangs, defending cops’ qualified immunity, and putting anyone who murder police officers to death.

“Kamala Harris and the left-wing communists have brought about a terrible pandemic of violence, criminality, disorder, suffering, and demise in our country.” Trump chastised him, saying, “Other than that, they’re actually quite well.”

He continued by criticizing Harris for her tenure as district attorney of San Francisco, saying, “She destroyed San Francisco,” and making fun of her purported position that one may “steal as much as you want up to $950 and nothing happens to you after that.”

“So guys are walking in with calculators?” the police officer in the crowd laughed.