HOWELL, MI – Former President Donald Trump railed against the “defund the police” movement at a campaign rally in Howell on Tuesday, Aug. 20, and instead promised to “defund the police” if he were elected president.
Trump spoke about crime and safety at an afternoon event with media, police officers and a small group of supporters at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office. The event was not open to the public. He addressed numerous topics on safety concerns that he raised during his campaign, such as immigration, border control and the importance of local law enforcement officers.
“I like to say that the Republican Party today is the party of common sense,” he said. “We want to have a good life. We want to be safe.”
At the beginning of his speech, Trump focused on his thoughts on the “Defund the Police” initiative, which gained popularity in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd.
“When I’m president of the United States again, we won’t even think about or mention the words ‘defund the police,'” he said, prompting applause from the crowd.
Trump attacked his opponent Kamala Harris, who is set to officially win the Democratic presidential nomination this week, over past comments she made in support of the movement to defund police. Harris made the comments during the Floyd protests, according to the Associated Press.
Harris has not said during her current campaign that she supports the movement, but Trump said he believes his opponent would support it anyway.
“If she ever had the chance, she would do anything to defund the police because that is her passion, that is her heart,” he said. “We cannot have a president like that.”
The Republican candidate also described Harris as “the leader of this crusade against crime and police” that he said is currently taking place in the United States.
Trump said his plan if elected is to cut police funding and instead refund police officers across the country.
“We want to help the police. They have a very dangerous job,” he said. “We have to give them protection, love and respect, and that’s what we will do.”
