Donald Trump, who in May became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes, was on Wednesday officially endorsed by a coalition of police unions that represents some 241,000 officers nationwide.
Critics noted the irony.
Mick McHale, the president of the National Association of Police Organizations, announced NAPO’s backing of the twice-impeached, quadruply indicted candidate during a Trump campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Standing in front of Trump on the stage, McHale said to loud cheers from the MAGA audience that he was “truly honored” to make the announcement and that NAPO’s members are “proud and pleased to support your campaign and we are here for anything, anything that you may need.”
Watch the video here:
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 that 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 declared.
On social media, commentators were aghast at the coalition’s endorsement, which follows similar backing of Trump that was announced by the International Union of Police Associations in February. That endorsement came before Trump’s conviction on all 34 counts in his hush money trial.
“Authoritarianism is about replacing the rule of law with rule by the lawless,” authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat responded on X, formerly Twitter.
Conservative pundit Charlie Sykes simply wrote: “FFS.”