President Trump announced a broad four-part plan on Thursday to improve policing nationwide and improve conditions in minority communities, a vision he called “force with compassion” that won’t allow liberals to defund police departments.
Pushing back at widespread complaints of institutional racism, Mr. Trump also said there won’t be healing in the U.S. “by falsely labeling tens of millions of decent Americans as racist.”
At a megachurch in Dallas, Mr. Trump said he’ll sign an executive order soon requiring police departments to meet high professional standards for the use of force, including tactics for de-escalating confrontations. It will also include pilot programs to allow social workers to join certain law enforcement officers “so they can work together,” he said.
“That means force, but force with compassion,” the president said. “We’re not defunding police. If anything, we’re going the other route. We’re going to make sure our police are well-trained.”
He also said he’ll renew his call on Congress to approve school choice, calling it “the civil rights issue of our time.” And the president promised increased investment in minority communities, as well as health care institutions that serve mostly minorities.
“We are here to listen to community and faith leaders and to present our vision of advancing the cause of justice and freedom,” Mr. Trump said.
His appearance with police and community and faith leaders came two days after the funeral of George Floyd, a black man who died on May 25 during an encounter with police in Minneapolis. Since then, the president has come under heavy criticism for failing to address the protests that have roiled many cities nationwide.
Mr. Trump made clear that he’s not abandoning his law-and-order agenda, pointing to a spree of violence in Chicago last weekend and demonstrators who have taken control of a section of Seattle.
“We have to have law and order,” Mr. Trump said. “You have to have strength. Look at Seattle — they took over a city, a big chunk of it. It couldn’t happen here, I don’t think, in the state of Texas.”
The president said some elements of the country are “trying to stoke division … this includes radical efforts to defund, dismantle and disband the police.”
“We have to go the opposite way,” he said. “We must invest more energy and resources in police training and recruitment and community engaging. … You always have a bad apple wherever you go. There are not too many in the police department.”
Addressing the complaints of systemic racism in the U.S., the president said, “We have to work together to confront bigotry and prejudice wherever they appear. But we’ll make no progress and heal no wounds by falsely labeling tens of millions of decent Americans as racist.”
