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Three years ago, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, there was some talk on Capitol Hill about law enforcement reforms. Those talks ultimately failed: Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the lead negotiator for the GOP, abandoned the process when Democrats asked him to support an idea he’d previously endorsed.
Earlier this year, in the wake of graphic footage of Memphis officers fatally beating Tyre Nichols, there were some renewed talks, which went nowhere.
For his part, Donald Trump apparently has some reform ideas of his own, though it’s safe to say they’re far from constructive.
During his rally in New Hampshire over the weekend, the former president and suspected felon vowed to “restore law and order,” in part by investigating prosecutors he doesn’t like “for their illegal, racist-in-reverse enforcement of the law.” But then the Republican pitched something new:
“I am also going to indemnify our police officers. This is a big thing, and it’s a brand new thing, and I think it’s so important. I’m going to indemnify, through the federal government, all police officers and law enforcement officials throughout the United States from being destroyed by the radical left for taking strong actions against crime.”
Watching the clip, it’s clear that this wasn’t an off-the-cuff comment: Trump was clearly reading from his trusted teleprompter when he presented the idea.
Ordinarily, I’d explore some of the details of a policy proposal, weighing its merits, but in this case, there really isn’t a policy proposal, per se. Rather, it was just a line in a Trump speech.
How exactly would he go about indemnifying all police officers and law enforcement officials? He didn’t say. What “strong actions” would the police be allowed to take under the Republican’s vision? He didn’t say that, either. How much would an indemnification program cost? Your guess is as good as mine.
But at face value, it appears the frontrunner for the GOP nomination envisions a model in which officers who take “strong actions” would not have to worry about being held liable for their conduct.
For those keeping score on all of the many ways Trump is running on an authoritarian-style platform, this belongs on the list.