The 2024 Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees are in the midst of a battleground-state sweep, focusing on a different theme each day.
Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), took their “Make America Safe Again” message to police departments in two battleground states on Aug. 20, pledging to improve circumstances for police officers.
The Republican candidates’ appearances are part of their campaign strategy while Democrats gather at their own nominating convention in Chicago.
During his speech at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office in Howell, Michigan, Trump said: “When I’m president of the United States again, we will never even think about or mention the words, ‘defund the police.’”
Instead, officials need to “re-fund” the police, he said, and also should grant officers greater protection against lawsuits and prosecutions that they may unfairly face “for doing their jobs,” Trump said.
“Under my leadership, no community will be surrendered to violent criminals; no citizen will be abandoned to migrant crime.”
Record numbers of illegal immigrants have been entering the United States since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office in 2021. Some have been arrested and charged for high-profile violent crimes in recent months.
While Biden has blamed Congress for inaction on a bipartisan border bill, Trump counters that, during his presidency, he issued executive orders to close the border and take other actions to clamp down on illegal immigration.
While Biden has blamed Congress for inaction on a bipartisan border bill, Trump counters that, during his presidency, he issued executive orders to close the border and take other actions to clamp down on illegal immigration.
“We don’t just have a vision on the Trump campaign. We don’t just have a bunch of promises on the Trump campaign. We have got four years of Donald Trump’s successful leadership that brought public safety to our streets, and that is something to celebrate and look forward to,” Vance said.
His audience was also filled with law enforcement officers.
