Major Police Group Announces Endorsement of Donald Trump
The Police Officers Association of Michigan endorsed President Donald Trump for re-election in a Thursday letter announcing the decision.
“Unlike most elections, where political opponents share many opinions and goals, this presidential election presents two very different candidates,” Police Officers Association of Michigan president James Tignanelli wrote.
The endorsement says that Trump “saved lives” by restoring the sharing of surplus equipment and tools to police officers, while former Vice President Joe Biden “opposed this.”
“President Trump never fails to recognize our homeland’s security personnel at home and abroad,” Tignanelli wrote.
“He supports the police while the previous administration preferred to insult them or to find them guilty without due process.”
The letter also noted that Trump has said he would veto a bill that would limit qualified immunity for police officers, but that Biden supports this bill.
Trump also openly opposes defunding the police, but “his opponent has made this his goal,” according to the association.
“At a time when civic leaders are choosing to tolerate televised felonies because a group of people are ‘offended’, we need real leadership,” Tignanelli wrote.
“President Trump considers the United States an ‘exceptional country’ while his opponent promises to ‘transform’ the country.”
The labor organization has one of the most active political action committees connected to state law enforcement, The Detroit News reported.
In an opinion piece for USA Today published on June 10, Biden said that he does not support defunding the police.
“While I do not believe federal dollars should go to police departments violating people’s rights or turning to violence as the first resort, I do not support defunding police,” he wrote.
“The better answer is to give police departments the resources they need to implement meaningful reforms, and to condition other federal dollars on completing those reforms.”
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh released a statement praising the Police Officers Association of Michigan’s endorsement.
“Joe Biden has caved in to the ‘Defund the Police’ movement and has turned his back on the Thin Blue Line — and police officers have noticed,” Murtaugh wrote.
“As Democrats in cities across the nation allow their communities to burn and let violence erupt against local law enforcement, President Trump defends and stands with our heroes as they preserve and protect our neighborhoods.”
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