Trump, Bondi Hold Roundtable Discussion With Fraternal Order Of Police At The White House

Forbes Breaking News

President Trump holds roundtable discussion with the Fraternal Order Of Police at the White House.

Transcript

00:30National Fraternal Order of Police Executive Board, representing nearly 400,000 officers

00:39nationwide, and they were with me right from the beginning, and we appreciate it.

00:43We won't forget.

00:45Your members are the backbone of American law enforcement, and we're deeply grateful

00:51for your service, and you have done great service indeed.

00:54We're also joined by our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi.

00:58Thank you, Pam, being here.

01:00For generations, this institution has served as a powerful voice for the brave men and

01:05women who risk their lives to protect communities all over our country, and they do it as well

01:11as anybody or better.

01:12I was delighted to earn your endorsement in every one of my presidential campaigns.

01:17Well, we did very well, record-setting well, and I'm proud to stand with you today as the

01:23most police president, I would say, without question, in the history of America.

01:29I don't think anybody's been more for the police than I am.

01:33In recent years, far-left radicals have vilified and targeted our nation's police with Marxist

01:38prosecutors and soft-orn crime politicians, making it impossible for you to do your jobs

01:44and do them the way you want to do them, and only you know how to do them.

01:49Under the Trump administration, those days are over.

01:52We're back in the men in blue, and we're back in the blue.

01:56Very honestly, we have some of the greatest people in the country sitting right around

02:01this table.

02:02We've ended the use of lawfare against police officers and terminated unjustified federal

02:08consent decrees.

02:09I signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice to provide legal protection and

02:15financial support for officers targeted by very frivolous lawsuits.

02:20Oh, I know about frivolous lawsuits better than you do.

02:23I can tell you.

02:24I had my share of them.

02:25I ordered other federal agencies to boost funding for police recruitment, retention,

02:31and pay, and I've asked Attorney General Bondi to pursue the death penalty for anyone convicted

02:36of killing a police officer, which is very appropriate.

02:40Upon taking office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border, and we reduced the number

02:46of illegal border crossers released into the United States by 99.999%.

02:54You can't do much better than that.

02:58We've removed thousands of violent, criminal, illegal aliens from our communities as part

03:03of the largest deportation effort in American history, and just a few months into office,

03:08the national murder rate has plummeted by 28%.

03:12It's going down largely because of what you're doing.

03:17I'm also deeply grateful to the National Fraternal Order of Police for its resounding endorsement

03:23of the one big, beautiful bill, which is moving along very nicely with great support.

03:29It's a great bill.

03:30It's a bill that's going to cut taxes more than any bill we've ever put in the history

03:35of our country.

03:35It's going to cut costs and expenses by $1.6 trillion, which is the biggest cut in expenses

03:43ever.

03:44And it's going to do so many other things.

03:46You know, our country is doing record business right now.

03:49Record investment is coming in.

03:50Close to $15 trillion is already committed to come in for building new plants and factories.

03:57AI is big.

03:58Apple's investing $500 billion plus.

04:01They're all coming in.

04:03It also includes the largest investment in border security in our nation's history, equipping

04:08law enforcement with the tools to stop the invasion.

04:11I built a lot of wall, hundreds of miles of wall.

04:14Now we're going to build some additional wall where we feel we probably should build it after

04:19a little trial and error.

04:21And we're going to end up building more wall than even I built, and we built a lot.

04:26So I want to thank you for your support.

04:28And now let's get the bill passed.

04:30We want to get it passed through Congress without delay.

04:33In everything we do, we will give our police the respect and the protection and all of

04:39the resources that you need.

04:40I did that.

04:41As you know, nobody wanted to do it before me, where I gave you the military equipment

04:46that was excess.

04:47They called it excess military equipment.

04:50You know that very well.

04:51I think every one of you benefited by that.

04:53It was in warehouses, billions of dollars worth, in warehouses all over the country.

04:59And other presidents didn't want to give it to you.

05:01I did.

05:02And we gave it to you.

05:03And it helped out a lot and saved a lot of police officers' lives.

05:07I'd now like to ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to say a few words, followed by FOP National

05:13President Patrick Yeos, and then Washington, D.C.

05:17FOP Trustee Greg Pemberton, and Vice President of the Fraternal Order of Police, Joe Gamaldi.

05:25All great people.

05:26Thank you very much.

05:27Pam, thank you very much.

05:28Thank you, President.

05:29And thank you to the Fraternal Order of Police for being an unwavering voice for America's

05:35law enforcement.

05:36We all know there is no ordinary day in the life of a police officer.

05:41Each day, you leave your homes with complete uncertainty as to who you will encounter and

05:47what happens each day.

05:49You also stand on the front lines against cartels and foreign terrorist organizations while fighting

05:57the horrors of illegal drug and human trafficking.

06:01I was just in Poland this morning and arrived back not even two hours ago.

06:07And you have the respect of the entire world of law enforcement around this world.

06:15They respect all of you so much.

06:18Thank you for making all of us so proud on the worldwide stage.

06:23President Trump's Justice Department will do everything to protect you and to support all

06:32men and women who wear the badge in this country.

06:36We are fully committed to ensuring our local law enforcement officers have access to the

06:42resources, tools, and manpower you need to do your jobs.

06:47That means boosting recruitment and retention.

06:50We want the best and brightest to join your ranks just like you, and we want them to stay

06:55in your ranks.

06:56Last month, we announced $157 million in grant money available for law enforcement agencies

07:04to hire police officers.

07:06Through this funding, we anticipate nearly 1,200 new officers will be hired around the country.

07:11We're helping to pay for police officers overtime and supporting President Trump's no tax on

07:18overtime.

07:19We've also made millions of dollars available for mental health and wellness programs for

07:25you around this country.

07:27We know how important that is.

07:29We're aggressively prosecuting criminals who assault law enforcement officers.

07:33We will not tolerate attacks on police officers.

07:38Since January, the Department has brought 138 cases in 33 states against defendants who have

07:44assaulted our officers.

07:46Additionally, the DOJ will no longer target police departments with bogus lawsuits and bogus

07:53investigations.

07:54We are dismissing lawsuits filed by the Biden DOJ against police departments in Louisville,

07:59Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and more.

08:02We're ending meritless investigations into Phoenix, Trenton, New York City, Oklahoma, and elsewhere.

08:09We're also ending consent decrees that take control away from you, destroy morale, and increase

08:18violence.

08:19Instead, we're working with local law enforcement to give you the tools that you need to make

08:26our streets safer.

08:28We believe in backing the blue, not just in word, but in action.

08:34The Biden administration slandered you, defunded you, and undermined your service.

08:40But we stand with you, we honor you, and we will not abandon you.

08:46Thank you on behalf of President Trump, the Department of Justice.

08:51We are 100 percent committed to standing with our nation's law enforcement.

08:57God bless you and God bless America.

09:01Mr. President, first, thank you.

09:03Thank you for not only your support for law enforcement as the 45th president, but also

09:08your support as the 47th president and all the years in between.

09:11You've always been a steadfast supporter of the Fraternal Auto Police and law enforcement

09:16across this country.

09:17I want you to know, on behalf of our nearly 400,000 members, we appreciate all that you

09:20do for us.

09:21With us today is the members of our executive board.

09:24We also have members of FOP unions in major cities across this country, which have some

09:29very serious problems that we're working with, and we appreciate the opportunity to share

09:34with you some of our views and work together on this.

09:39You made a promise to us, and I want to start by saying this.

09:41You made a promise that you were going to address tax on overtime, and that was a promise

09:47made in a new big bill, one big new bill is certainly making good on that promise.

09:53We thank you for that.

09:55You know, law enforcement officers, we find ourselves in a very difficult position where

09:59we're having a serious problem with recruiting retention, as you pointed out.

10:03The problem is, is the people who are working right now are working so many hours and they're

10:06forced to work overtime, and now they have the tax liabilities that are associated with

10:09being pushed into different tax brackets because of being forced to work.

10:13Not only that, they're not getting to keep the money they earn.

10:15So you, in a recruiting and retention standpoint, you show appreciation for what we do, recognize

10:20what we do in the community, and I want you to know that we are, we're proud to support

10:23the bill.

10:24This is something that needs to be happening.

10:25A promise that you made, and we appreciate you carrying through with it, and know that

10:29we're a partner in it.

10:32You also made a number of other promises to us, and promises made that we appreciate.

10:37I want to start with one of our first people I'd like to recognize.

10:41You promised, and here we are in our nation's capital, revitalizing the city and making

10:45it safe again.

10:46And no one knows that better than the person who lives in every day and leads the officers

10:50in the Metropolitan Police Department and our labor union, and Greg Pemberton.

10:53And I'll ask Greg to say a few words.

10:55Thank you, Pat.

10:56And thank you, Mr. President, for having us.

10:58My name is Greg Pemberton.

10:59I represent 3,000 police officers that work here for the Metropolitan Police Department in

11:03Washington, D.C.

11:04The crisis that we're facing, which frankly is more of a calamity, is a staffing crisis.

11:10We are authorized to have 4,000 sworn police officers here in the nation's capital.

11:14Unfortunately, as of today, we only have 3,190, over 800 vacancies that we have here for this

11:20Metropolitan Police Department.

11:21And the worst part is that over the past five years, we've lost, we've had a net loss of

11:25600 police officers who've just left this agency in a mass exodus.

11:31And the reason for that is that our city council here in the District of Columbia has passed layers

11:36and layers and layers of legislation that prohibits our officers from being able to do their job.

11:40It exposes our members to administrative, civil, and even criminal liability, even when they

11:46go out and do their job properly.

11:47It has also stripped our members of their labor protections to fight off these frivolous

11:52complaints and these erroneous allegations of misconduct.

11:54It all makes for an environment that is almost impossible to keep these staffing levels what

11:59they need to be.

12:01Frankly, Mr. President, I think the nation's capital, the District of Columbia, is not just

12:05a city of 700,000 residents.

12:07This is the nation's capital, and it belongs to everybody, it belongs to every American.

12:12It should be a safe city, it should be a pinnacle of American society, it should represent the

12:16freedom and democracy that we all cherish so much, and anybody should be free to come here

12:21and experience that and see what it is that we are here in this country.

12:25And the sanctity and safety of the District of Columbia shouldn't be left in the hands of

12:30a city council that subscribes to these radical ideologies that we all know are failed and

12:40that we have the empirical data that it doesn't work, it only increases crime and makes cities

12:45more dangerous.

12:46I want to thank you for creating the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.

12:50I've met with Orville Green.

12:51I find him to be phenomenally qualified to help us out of this mess.

12:54I also want to thank you for the appointment of Janine Pirro for the USAO position of D.C.

13:00I met with her recently and I found her plan to solve and tackle a number of these problems

13:04very promising, very optimistic.

13:07So the 3,000 police officers stand at the ready, Mr. President, to help you make D.C. great

13:11again and hopefully we can solve some of these problems and fix crime here in the nation's

13:15capital.

13:16Thank you very much.

13:19Mr. President, the topic of the day, pretty much every day now, is the unmitigated disaster

13:27that has created in cities across this country with the open borders and all the problems that

13:33it has done for quality of life, it's done for safety within our community, safety of the

13:36officers that work in the communities, and you've been a great advocate of putting us

13:40back together.

13:41And I'd like to ask our Vice President Joe Gamaldi to touch on.

13:45President Trump, I think I'd be remiss if I didn't start by saying thank you.

13:50Thank you for the incredible efforts by you and your administration to deport these people

13:54who have come to our country illegally and then refuse to follow the very laws that we

13:58hold so sacred.

14:00Our officers, especially in sanctuary cities, are tired of arresting the same people over and

14:06over again who never should have been here in the first place.

14:09We have lost friends, co-workers, unimaginable trauma to American citizens and families, and

14:16the most frustrating part from a law enforcement perspective when it was 100% avoidable.

14:22And now we have judges who are standing up for gang members, murderers, robbers, rapists,

14:28blocking deportations, obstructing the very will of the American people.

14:33It's a disgrace.

14:35And if they had a shred of integrity, which I assume they don't, they would resign in shame

14:39for what they're doing right now.

14:41But I would just ask that you continue to work with us, continue to support with us so that

14:45we can partner with all of our great federal agencies out there, continue to carry out this

14:50mission.

14:51And again, thank you for securing the border.

14:54And once again, making our country one of law and order.

14:59Thank you very much.

14:59Very nice.

15:00Yes.

15:01It's okay.

15:02Yes.

15:03We're going to have a little discussion now.

15:06Very private.

15:08And I just want to thank you all for being here.

15:09And thank you very much, media.

15:11Appreciate it.

15:12Thank you very much.

15:17Thank you very much.

15:18Thank you, Mr. President.

15:19Nice to see you.

15:21Nice to see you all.

15:22Good.

15:24Nice to see you.

15:26Good.

15:31Good.

15:32Good.

15:34Good.

15:36Good.

15:38Good.

15:41Good.

15:44Good.

15:45Good.

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