Without officially declaring for a 2024 presidential campaign Friday night in Las Vegas, Nevada, former President Donald Trump laid out a platform of strong-on-crime policies to "liberate our communities from the scourge of crime," "protect the innocent," "deliver justice to the guilty," and "defend our police."
"Law and order is at the very heart of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Trump told the crowd at a midterm campaign event at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Without law and order, there is no justice, there is no safety, there is no prosperity, and there is no freedom.
"That's why impartial rule of law has been at the core of our Make America Great Again movement — greatest movement in the history of our country. And all of those people back there, they would love to get me on that, but they can't.
"We had a president who ran twice, who won twice, and may have to do it a third time — can you believe that?"
In addition to making a bold call for the death penalty for convicted drug dealers, cop killers, and human traffickers, Trump laid out myriad "quick" moves to "make America safe again."
"Our vision of America cannot be more different than the nightmare being forced on this nation by the radical left," Trump said.
"They want open borders — we want strong borders. They want to defund and disparage the police — we want to support and strengthen our police. They want American to be a sanctuary for dangerous criminal aliens — we want our country to be a sanctuary for hard-working people that love America.
"They want a country that is soft on violent felons — we want communities and we want a country that's safe for law-abiding citizens for every race, religion, color, and creed.
"These are the contrasts that will define this election. Very simple."
Trump itemized measures to promote policing against "Biden's crime wave" and ending "Democrats' anti-police crusade," starting with: "Leave the police alone, let them do their job, they know how to do it."
His reform package presented Friday night included:
- A bill to increase police forces "in every city and metro area across our country."
- Funding for "cutting-edge recruitment, training, and retention, high salaries, benefits, and retirement plans, because if we don't have police officers our cities will quickly become even more of a living hell than they are right now."
- "Stop persecutions of officers who make honest mistakes."
- "Pass legislation strengthening qualified immunity and other protections for police officers."
- Give back police "surplus military equipment; it must go back to them."
- "Dismantle every street gang, cartel, and violent criminal organization."
- Investigate "racist prosecutors" for "violations of federal civil rights laws."
- Stop the "weaponized" justice, Trump said, as the Biden administration and blue-state Democrats continue to go after conservatives instead of the criminals in their crime-infested locals.
- Stop going after law-abiding gun owners, and stop the criminals of gun violence.
- "End the travesty on the southern border," and go back to the Trump administration doctrine of enforcing immigration law already on the books.
- Return to the deportation of "criminal aliens and non-citizens."
- "Congress must fund a major increase of ICE officers."
"These are just a few of the reforms that can restore law and order in America, and really very quickly, but remember none of this will happen if we do not get America First Republicans elected to office," Trump said, turning his address to the endorsement of crime-fighting Republicans in the state of Nevada, including GOP gubernatorial nominee Joe Lombardo, the Clark County sheriff and head of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, and GOP Sen.-nominee Adam Laxalt.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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