Donald Trump suggests ‘one rough hour’ of policing will end theft

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Donald Trump has suggested that “one rough hour” of law enforcement action would tamp down retail theft, an echo of his longstanding support for more aggressive and potentially violent policing.

“One rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately,” Trump said Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Trump has ramped up his rhetoric with just over a month before Election Day, describing immigrants in the U.S. illegally as criminals intent on harming native-born Americans and suggesting crime has skyrocketed despite national statistics showing the opposite. The former president has a long history of encouraging rough treatment of people in police custody and saying law enforcement should be exempt from potential punishment.

Three weeks ago, as the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed him at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina, Trump pledged unyielding support for police, including expanded use of force: “We have to get back to power and respect.”

At his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, Trump in August tied the suggestion of amped-up law enforcement activity to the deportation of immigrants. He advocated ensuring that officers “have immunity from prosecution, because frankly, our police are treated horribly. They’re not allowed to do their job.”

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