US: Major police group endorses Trump

ANKARA

The US’ National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) has formally thrown its weight behind President Donald Trump reelection campaign, praising his “very public support” for law enforcement.

“Our endorsement recognized your steadfast and very public support for our men and women on the front lines, especially during this time of unfair and inaccurate opprobrium being directed at our members by so many,” NAPO President Michael McHale said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We particularly value your directing the Attorney General to aggressively prosecute those who attack our officers,” he added.

NAPO represents more than 1,000 police units and associations, and more than 241,000 law enforcement officers.

Trump took Twitter to appreciate the endorsement and vowed to keep up his support for police officers.

“THANK YOU @NAPOpolice and their 241,000 brave law enforcement members for a FULL & COMPLETE ENDORSEMENT! I will ALWAYS back the men and women in blue, and never let you down. LAW AND ORDER will prevail!” he wrote.

During his visit to the US Southern Command last week, Trump said his administration will “never” defund the police, amid rising calls from the public and Democrats for such a step after the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, by a white police officer on May 25.

“We will never, ever defund our police. That I can tell you. We’re not defunding police,” he said.

“I assume this is going to be a fad. We’ll call it a fad. But it’s not something that will work very well.”