US election 2020: Donald Trump pitches law and order, sends agents into Democrat-run cities
Donald Trump’s move to send in agents against ‘the radical left’ in Democrat-run cities is part of a law and order pitch.
Donald Trump is placing law and order at the centre of his re-election campaign by sending at least 100 federal agents to Chicago and other cities to tackle what he calls a “shocking explosion” of violent crime in Democrat-run cities.
The move has angered Democrat governors and mayors who accuse the president of abusing federal powers for political reasons by sending in agents and trying to portray their cities as hotbeds of violent crime or protests.
Mr Trump, who has declared himself to be the “law and order president”, has warned that if his Democrat opponent Joe Biden is elected, US cities will succumb to “the radical left” and crime rates will soar.
“Today I’m announcing a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities plagued by violent crime,” Mr Trump said at a White House press conference.
“We have no choice but to get involved given the rising crime and deaths in some cities that were spiralling out of control.
“This bloodshed must end; this bloodshed will end,” he said. “We will be fighting every day to save the lives of America’s children.”
Mr Trump reeled off a litany of figures to show how violent crime had spiked in many US cities compared with a year ago, especially in Chicago where he said murders were up sharply.
Chicago has had 414 homicides so far this year, compared with 275 during the same period last year.
He linked the rise in violence to calls by “radical movements” to defund police in the wake of the riots over the police killing of African American George Floyd.
“In recent weeks there has been a radical movement to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments,” Mr Trump said.
“The effort to shut down police in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killing, violence, murders. This rampage of violence shocks the conscience of our nation and we will not stand by and watch it happen.”
He said federal law enforcement agents were needed in these cities to help local police “solve murders and take down violent gangs”.
Mr Trump has already sent federal agents to Portland in Oregon to protect federal buildings from street protesters who have held rallies for more than 50 days in the wake of the George Floyd protests.
Local authorities in Portland have opposed the deployment, saying it has led to arbitrary arrests and tear gassing of protesters.
The mayor of New York City, Bill De Blasio, said Mr Trump’s move was unconstitutional and warned he would take the Trump Administration to court if they tried to send federal agents to New York.
“There is no precedent for this ... it’s unconstitutional,” Mr De Blasio said. “Cities run their police forces ... you send in outsiders ... and I fear more violence, exactly what you’ve seen in Portland. It’s un-American.”
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot said this week her city would co-operate with the new federal forces only if they worked with existing federal forces in the city.
“We welcome actual partnership. But we do not welcome dictatorship, we do not welcome authoritarianism and we do not welcome unconstitutional arrest and detainment of our residents,” she said.
Violent crime has spiked in the US in recent months at a time of the coronavirus pandemic and racial riots sparked by the Floyd killing. Gun sales have also risen but Democrats say the president is exaggerating the problem for political gain.
Mr Trump said he would send 100 federal agents from various agencies into Chicago and would also send some to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Despite Mr Trump’s push to portray himself as a law and order president, polls show that voters believe Mr Biden would be more effective on issues of crime and safety.
A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showed the former vice president leading Mr Trump on the issue of ‘crime and safety’ by nine points, 50 per cent to 41 per cent.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll from late June also found voters trusted Mr Biden more than Mr Trump to maintain law and order by 10 points, 51-41 per cent.
Mr Trump said the plan to send federal agents to fight crime in cities was called Operation Legend after four year old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot dead while sleeping in his apartment in Kansas City in June.
Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia
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