Trump Preparing Executive Order That Flies in the Face of 'Defund the Police' Movement
President Donald Trump said he is finalizing an executive order to encourage police departments to adopt the “most current professional standards for the use of force” instead of defunding the police as many on the left desire.
He outlined the goal of this executive order during a roundtable discussion at a church in Dallas.
“We’re working to finalize an executive order that will encourage police departments nationwide to meet the most current professional standards for the use of force, including tactics for de-escalation,” Trump said, according to a White House transcript of his remarks.
“Also, we’ll encourage pilot programs that allow social workers to join certain law enforcement officers so that they work together.”
The Republican president made the remarks in the midst of calls to “defund the police” in response to George Floyd’s death on May 25 in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for roughly nine minutes during an arrest.
“We’re not defunding police,” Trump said.
“If anything, we’re going the other route: We’re going to make sure that our police are well trained — perfectly trained, they have the best equipment.”
The effort to encourage police departments to meet the professional standards for use of force and allowing social workers to join officers are the third and fourth steps the Trump administration’s four-step plan to “build safety and opportunity and dignity.”
The first step is to pursue “economic development in minority communities” by increasing access to capital for small businesses with minority owners.
The administration will also confront health care disparities by investing money into “minority-serving medical institutions.”
In his remarks, Trump called out the radical efforts to “defund, dismantle, and disband the police.”
“They want to get rid of the police forces. They actually want to get rid of it,” Trump said.
“Instead, we have to go the opposite way. We must invest more energy and resources in police training and recruiting and community engagement. We have to respect our police. We have to take care of our police. They’re protecting us.”
House Democrats introduced legislation this week to limit the powers of police officers nationwide.
The Justice in Policing Act of 2020, according to a summary listed on the House website, is a “comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and build trust between law enforcement and our communities.”
There is currently no indication that the proposed legislation had bipartisan support.
“Americans are good and virtuous people. We have to work together to confront bigotry and prejudice wherever they appear,” Trump said.
“But we’ll make no progress and heal no wounds by falsely labeling tens of millions of decent Americans as racists or bigots. We have to get everybody together.”
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