Republican candidates were given an opportunity to pitch their plan to fight growing crime rates across the country during the first 2024 presidential debate.
Moderators reminded the debaters and viewers that homelessness and drug problems are rising. Murders in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago have increased by 30 percent between 2019 and 2022, and homelessness increased by 11 percent over that same period.
In the debate’s host city, Milwaukee, alone, the moderators pointed out that there were 30 shootings just last weekend.
The consensus among the candidates was a need to revive law enforcement across the country, but they differed on the source and specific solution to the problem.
Former Vice President Mike Pence was the first to speak on this matter, with moderators suggesting that this problem began during the pandemic under the Trump-Pence administration.
“I think part to blame was the Democrats been talking about defunding the police for the last five years,” he said.
“I mean, it’s extraordinary to think about the violence that’s claiming innocent lives literally every week in every major city in this country.
“We will be funding law enforcement, particularly in our major cities at, at unprecedented levels.
“What we need is strong commitment to law enforcement. We need leadership in Washington, DC, but to marshal the resources of the states; marshal resources of the American people.”
Problem with Prosecutors
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie added that there is a need for reform in the justice system.“What President Christie would do is appoint an attorney general, who would instruct each of the 93 U.S. attorneys that they are to take over the prosecution of violent crime in every one of those cities that are failing to do so,” he said.
“We have plenty of room in the federal prisons to lock up these violent criminals and clean up what’s going on all across this country and these individual cities,” Mr. Christie said.
“I ran the fifth largest [state attorney’s] office in America in a state where there is significant urban crime, and the problem is not going to be solved by more money,” he said. “The problem is that these prosecutors in these localities in the states are refusing to do their job and to arrest violent criminals.”
Mr. Christie and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are the only two candidates in the debate who have run a United States attorney’s office.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis jumped in on the topic of poor prosecutors across the country.
“These hollowed-out cities—this is a symptom of America’s decline, and one of the biggest reasons is because you have George Soros funding these radical left-wing district attorneys,” he said.
“There’s one guy in this entire country that’s ever done anything about that— me. When we had two of these district attorneys in Florida, elected with Soros funding who said they wouldn’t do their job—I removed them from their posts. They are gone.”
Mr. DeSantis removed Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren and Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell.
The governor promised that if elected president, he would go after all of the other state attorneys who were not doing their job.
“As president, we’re gonna go after all of these people because they are hurting the quality of life, and they are victimizing innocent people in every corner of this country, and it will stop when I get into office.”
Mental Health Crisis
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy added mental health is a major source of the problem.“Just over the same period that we have closed in mental health institutions, we have seen a spike in violent crime,” he said. “Do we have the spine to bring them back? I think we should, and as president, I will.”
But, he said it is not about “drugging up people in those psychiatric institutions.” He believes faith-based approaches play a role, too.
“I say this as a member of my generation: The problem in our country right now—the reason we have that mental health epidemic—is that people are so hungry for purpose and meaning at a time when family faith, patriotism, hard work have all disappeared.”
“What we really need is a total reset from the top, saying that this is what it means to be an American. Yes, we will stand for the rule of law. Yes, we will close the southern border where criminals are coming in every day. And yes, we will back law enforcement because we remember who we really are.”
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also touched on the mentality of Americans.
The candidate, from a town of 300 people, responded to the question about the nation’s big cities, saying, “Nobody ever asks the question of what about the crime wave in small towns, because in a small town, neighbors help neighbors. People understand each other.”
Drug Crisis
Mr. Hutchinson spoke up as the former head of the DEA, saying he understands the drug crisis in America.
“Let’s deal with the challenge of fentanyl,” he added. “And it’s both about stopping the fentanyl coming from Mexico.
No One Above the Law
Mr. Hutchinson also clarified that nobody can be above the law regarding the justice system, calling out former President Donald Trump.“It starts at the top with respect for our justice system,” he said. “And that a former president who’s under indictment has undermined by attacking judges by attacking prosecutors by attacking the system and saying he’s aggrieved.
“We have to have respect for our justice system and the rule of law, and it starts at the top with the president of the United States.”
Mr. Trump skipped the debate and is planned to be processed at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia on Aug. 24.
Mr. Christie also emphasized that no one will be above the law in his presidency. But he turned his focus on Hunter Biden.
“We need to make sure that each and every one of these criminals understands that the laws apply to everybody,” he said. “And when Hunter Biden fills out a fake application for a gun permit and then is free.”
When Hunter Biden can walk away from what warrants a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, Mr. Christie said, which was mandated by legislation sponsored by President Biden, “we’re telling people that the law doesn’t apply to everybody.”
“In the Christie administration, [Hunter Biden] would go to jail for ten years.”
Sen. Tim Scott (R–S.C.) and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley did not have a chance to directly answer the question anout crime.
