Trump urges cops union to watch for ‘voter fraud’

Donald Trump urged members of the largest police union in the US to “watch for voter fraud” at a meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police in North Carolina.

The former president yet again pushed his baseless and debunked voter fraud claims regarding the 2020 election, claiming that Democrats could only win by fraudulent means in November.

“Watch for the voter fraud, because we win without voter fraud,” he told the meeting of the national board of the police union in Charlotte on Friday. “We win so easily.”

Trump spoke to the Fraternal Order of Police, which has more than 370,000 members, just hours after the union endorsed him, as they did in 2016 and 2020. They most recently backed a Democrat in 1996, when President Bill Clinton was running for re-election.

He argued that police officers could make some voters afraid.

“You can keep it down just by watching, because, believe it or not, they’re afraid of that badge,” Trump told the group. “They’re afraid of you people. They’re afraid of that more than anything else.”

Before a single ballot has been cast, Trump has claimed that the November election will be riddled with fraud as he prepares to possibly call the integrity of the election into question if he loses again. While he has told his followers to monitor voters, telling a police union to do so increasingly makes it appear as if he’s pushing for voter intimidation.

Katie Reisner, a senior counsel at the nonpartisan States United Democracy Center, told The New York Times that election officials and law enforcement have tried for years to improve community relations surrounding the police and elections.

She added that Trump’s statements could negatively affect years of planning and work.

“The idea of Trump