President Donald Trump Receives Official Endorsement from the Fraternal Order of Police in 2020

Fox News has the scoop on the FOP's endorsement of President Donald Trump:

The Fraternal Order of Police endorsed President Trump’s reelection on Friday, saying he has the “full and enthusiastic support” of its more than 355,000 members.

FOP President Patrick Yoes made the announcement Friday morning that the organization, which is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the country, had “unanimously voted to endorse” Trump. The FOP also endorsed Trump in 2016.

“Public safety will undoubtedly be a main focus for voters in this year’s election,” Yoes said. “Look at what the national discourse has focused on for the last six months. President Trump has shown time after time that he supports our law enforcement officers and understands the issues our members face every day.”

Yoes, in a reference to Trump's response to unrest in America's cities that has flared since the death of George Floyd in police custody, added that “the FOP is proud to endorse a candidate who calls for law and order across our nation.”

He said the decision was made through “canvassing the more than 355,000 FOP members throughout the country.”

Yoes went on to tout the FOP’s support as “one of the most sought-after endorsements by candidates running for the presidency.”

“We have a responsibility to our members, to the 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the United States, and to the communities they serve to do our part in determining the direction in which our country will head,” Yoes added.

The FOP endorsed former President George H.W. Bush in 1992, former President Bill Clinton in 1996, former President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, the late Sen. John McCain in 2008, and Trump in 2016. The FOP did not endorse any candidate—former President Barack Obama or now-Sen. Mitt Romney—in 2012.

Newsweek with more on President Trump's support within the law enforcement community:

The endorsement is the latest that the president, a staunch advocate for law enforcement, has received recently from police-related organizations as he looks to defeat Democratic rival Joe Biden in the upcoming November election. The support came amid nationwide protests in the last few months about systemic racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis while in police custody.

In July, the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) gave its stamp of approval for the president. In a statement, NAPO President Michael McHale wrote: "Our endorsement recognizes your steadfast and very public support for our men and women on the front lines, especially during this time of unfair and inaccurate opprobrium being directed at our members by so many."

The following month, the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, also backed Trump. "Many times, people say that a union like ours, law enforcement groups, give endorsements," NYC PBA President Patrick Lynch told Trump during an appearance at the president's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. "Not in the New York City PBA, sir. In the New York City PBA, sir, you earn the endorsement and you've earned this endorsement. I'm proud to give it."

Another law enforcement union in New York, the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, gave Trump an endorsement. Thomas Mungeer, the union's president, told the New York Post in August: "Donald Trump has our back. President Trump has supported us when so many people have turned against us."

But such support for Trump from law enforcement has not been universal. On Friday, over 75 current and former sheriffs and police officers endorsed Biden, according to a list obtained by Fox News. Tom Manger, a former president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and retired chief, told the news channel: "Joe Biden has always stood on the right side of the law and is offering a much-needed vision for our Nation. When asked the question, would you feel safe in Joe Biden's America? The answer is yes."

Meanwhile, a police union in Cleveland is staying away from endorsing a presidential candidate entirely this November for the first time in its 51-year-old history. According to a Cleveland.com report from August, the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association said it will support neither Trump nor Biden. The decision was reportedly due to division among the union's members following the group endorsement of Trump in 2016.

The president, who has frequently tweeted "LAW & ORDER!", affirmed his support for law enforcement during a White House meeting in July. "My administration is pro-safety, pro-police and anti-crime," he said. He also lit into Biden and the 'radical left' in a July 15 tweet that referenced police: "Joe Biden and the Radical Left want to Abolish Police, Abolish ICE, Abolish Bail, Abolish Suburbs, Abolish the 2nd Amendment – and Abolish the American Way of Life. No one will be SAFE in Joe Biden's America!"