Donald Trump, who in May became the first former president to be convicted of a felony, was formally endorsed Wednesday by a coalition of police unions representing some 241,000 officers across the country.
Mick McHale, the president of the National Association of Police Organizations, announced NAPO’s support for the twice-impeached, four-times indicted former president at a Trump campaign rally in Charlotte.
Standing onstage in front of Trump, McHale said to loud cheers from the MAGA crowd that he was “truly honored” to make the announcement and that NAPO members are “proud and happy to support your campaign and that we are here for everything, anything. that you might need.”
In a statement shared on social media, McHale said the endorsement recognizes Trump’s “steadfast and very public support for our men and women on the front lines.”
“If there is anything else NAPO can do to assist you in your campaign, please do not hesitate to contact me,” he concluded the note.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who will now likely run against Trump in the 2024 election following President Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign, has already drawn a sharp distinction between herself as a former prosecutor and Trump as a criminal. Harris knows “Trump’s type,” she has stated.
On social media, commentators were stunned by the coalition’s endorsement, which follows similar support for Trump announced in February by the International Union of Police Associations, ahead of Trump’s conviction on all 34 charges in his hush money trial.
“Authoritarianism is about replacing the rule of law with rule of the lawless,” authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat responded on X, formerly Twitter.
Conservative pundit Charlie Sykes wrote simply: “FFS.”