Largest US Police Union Endorses Trump for Reelection

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he makes his way to board Air Force One before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sept. 1, 2020. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the largest police union in the United States, announced it is endorsing President Donald Trump, commending him for his calls for law and order in the wake of civil unrest and riots over the summer.

“Public safety will undoubtedly be a main focus for voters in this year’s election,” FOP President Patrick Yoes said in a statement on Friday. “Look at what the national discourse has focused on for the last six months. President Trump has shown time after time that he supports our law enforcement officers and understands the issues our members face every day.”

The FOP is the largest organization of sworn police officers and has more than 355,000 members in 2,100 lodges. The organization unanimously voted to endorse Trump to reelection.

The FOP endorsed Trump for president in 2016 and alleged that former Secretary of State and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton snubbed them for not seeking their endorsement.

“During his first four years, President Trump has made it crystal clear that he has our backs,” Yoes said in the statement. “Our members know that he listens to the concerns of our brothers and sisters in uniform and is able to make tough decisions on the issues most important to law enforcement. President Trump is committed to keeping our communities and families safe.”

The group didn’t back a presidential candidate in 2012 when former Democratic President Barack Obama faced Republican Mitt Romney. Before that, the FOP endorsed Republican candidates in 2000, 2004, and 2008—George W. Bush twice and John McCain once. In 1996, it endorsed former President Bill Clinton’s reelection.

It’s not the first police union to endorse Trump. Several weeks ago, the International Union of Police Associations’ (IUPA), an affiliate of the massive AFL-CIO union, endorsed Trump for reelection while supporting the president’s plan to send in federal law enforcement agents to hotspots like Portland, Chicago, and Seattle.

President Sam A. Cabral said Tuesday that the union was backing the president’s re-election bid as it believes there is “no other viable alternative for anyone who desires peace and security in their community.”

Last month, during the Republican National Convention (RNC), Patrick Lynch, the head of the Police Benevolent Association—the largest police union in New York City—publicly endorsed Trump and accused Democratic politicians of capitulating to far-left activists on policing.

“The radical left doesn’t really want better policing,” he said. “They don’t really care about making the justice system fairer. What they want is no policing. What they want is a justice system that stops working altogether.”

He asserted that Biden would serve as a vehicle for leftist politicians to control the federal government.

“The message is: police officers are the enemy. The message is: criminals have the right to resist arrest. The message is: if you victimize a vulnerable person, the justice system will not hold you accountable. The criminals have heard that message, and they are taking full advantage,” Lynch said.