Can someone explain to me why police organizations endorse Trump?

[Buttoneer]

I really don't understand it.

https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2024/08/16/milwaukee-police-association-backs-trump-vance

[StarryNite]

1. Damn good question.

[jrthin]

2. When they tell you who they are, believe them.

[Arthur_Frain]

3. Pretty sure fox news is on all tvs in the PD just like any other government job.

25 years of that will rot your brain for sure.

Plus the PD attracts its share of sick people, and the “thin blue line” mentality doesn’t help either.

[Dave says]

9. I consulted to a state police agency for 3 years

The stories I could tell!

[Arthur_Frain]

13. My brother is a deputy sheriff

Somewhere in CA. I’ve watched his long slide over his 25 year career.

[patphil]

4. Because they hate the same people Trump hates.

[Ocelot II]

5. The profession tends to attract people with authoritarian tendencies.

I have no doubt that some people are motivated to go into policing by a sincere desire to help and protect their communities, but police departments have been dealing for decades with cops who just like beating down and controlling others, especially minority people. I used to know some of them; they'd brag about roughing up Black and Native people for no particular reason except that they were "loitering."

[underpants]

14. Post just above this one. 3%ers forging alliances with cops

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219344710

[chowder66]

50. I know of two really good cops.

I'll keep it vague and just say one worked in health care.
He was the nicest guy. I'm assuming he needed more money than he was getting but it could have been something he always wanted to do.
He did tell me he was shocked at how many of the cops/or trainees - he didn't state which - were alcoholics, had records, etc. I've worried about him ever since. He could hold his own, physically, but his disposition is very caring. I could see him de-escalating things extremely well.

The other is the son of my brother's partner (my brother and his partner are now deceased).
Her son is very polite and kind. He's in MO. Last I knew he seemed to be doing well.

I'm sure there a many more like these two in our police ranks. At least I hope so.

[PedroXimenez]

6. probably becaue of police shootings

Trump is 100% on their side no matter what happened.

[SharonClark]

15. Except for the DC cops during the Jan 6 riot.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. gosh I wonder

[Aristus]

8. Let's see: Trump and cops.

Both wielders of unearned power, both eager to abuse that power to satisfy vile, sadistic cravings, both sporting unflattering blue outfits, both haters of women, people of color, the oppressed and the downtrodden, both monumentally unqualified for the positions they hold.

I’m sure there’s more.

[Bobstandard]

10. Because they are an occupying army in many respects

In too many cases they are more loyal to each other than to the rule of law or the people they are supposed to serve.

By declaring support for Trump they are also declaring that they will be on his side if he becomes President again and goes full Nazi on us. They will be the front line troops when he institutes martial law, or goes ahead with the insane plan to round up “illegals”. Just another reason to get out the vote to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.

[unweird]

11. Right Wing Authoritarianism

It’s real and a natural for those of an authoritarian mindset.

[SharonClark]

12. Maybe because they . . .

fall for the GQP''s "anti-crime" propaganda,
wallow in "us against the world" victimization,
are cultural warriors,
like tough guys and bullies,
often have disdain for the people they are suppose "to serve and protect"?

I'm sure there are more colorful reasons why.

[Jerry2144]

16. Racists and Christofascists (I repeated my self, sorry) are attracted to

authoritarian power. Police have that kind of power and can kill people with impunity. Police can also harass and shoot people who don't look like Frosty Snowman's behind and pay no price. There are good cops. But many bad ones. And when good cops are silent about the bad ones, they're complicit

[Shermann]

17. Their job is easier when they are allowed to fully militarize. nt

[pwb]

18. Associations are not Unions.

They are more political Anti union. They associate with real police but have no real authority. Police Unions are a different thing. Unions are with us. Not all but most. IMO.

[SharonClark]

20. MPA is the union that represents Milwaukee police officers.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

24. Some cop unions are affiliated with the AFL-CIO, some are independent fraternal organizations.

When you say "police unions are with us," what exactly do you mean?

[pwb]

26. I said Unions are with us.

You said police unions.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

28. okay, us who and "with us" by what standard?

And are you saying AFL-CIO affiliated cops are "with us" and the independents are not?

[pwb]

31. You agreed that Associations and Unions are different

which was my main point. Argue elsewhere friend.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

32. Okay but it's just that the IUPA, which is an AFL-CIO affiliated union, endorsed Trump in 2020 and 2024 so uh

[pwb]

35. It is kind of like trumps fake UAW workers

and real UAW workers.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

38. It's not random members. It's a whole-ass actual affiliated union, no different than the UAW.

[pwb]

39. Alrighty then

Good talk.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

40. always happy to share helpful information

[Zoomie1986]

59. I hate to break it to you

But people need to stop confusing union leadership when they support Democrats with union membership.

Because they are not the same thing, and never have been. I've worked in a number of union shops, and most of the membership either didn't know, or didn't care, what the union leadership supported. Plenty of the members voted GOP because they're virulent racists. In fact, racism has a long history in the union movement that people don't always want to face. For decades, the most powerful of them often fought tooth and nail to keep minorities out.

Union support is far more nuanced and complicated for that reason. I don't care if UAW leadership says they're behind Kamala, 990,000 strong. I guarantee that it will not be 990,000 UAW workers voting for Kamala.

[Solly Mack]

19. Might I suggest the search terms police violence and Trump?

As well authoritarianism and police violence - the history of. Also, Trump and authoritarianism.

Somewhere along the way, the answer will come to you.

[gulliver]

22. Most Dems are highly supportive of cops.

We should highlight that more.

Unfortunately, whenever there is one cop "bad apple," many who wrongly claim to be on the left want to throw out the whole barrel. So, you hear DTP and FTP stupid stuff, and it gets pinned on Dems instead of the dummies (and, undoubtedly, some criminals) who say it.

I would like to see us have a "Cop Appreciation," rally. Just do nothing but bring up heroic, positive acts of police officers, the vast majority of actual policing that occurs. Good cops need encouragement. MAGAs are the angry folks who fixate on and hyper-emote about the negative all the time. Not us.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

27. According to Pew, 38% of Biden supporters said it's "extremely important" to "maintain public respect for police."

Granted, that's not exactly what you claimed, but I was curious if it had ever been measured, and that's the best I could do.

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/06/06/crime-policing-and-the-2024-election/

whenever there is one cop "bad apple,"

this kinda makes it sound like...there's more than one.

many who wrongly claim to be on the left

lmao

[gulliver]

46. 69% of Biden folks (vs. 88% Trumpies) say it's extremely or very important.

So, it does look like I'm correct in saying "Most Dems are highly supportive of cops."

The remaining 31% aren't covered, but if I had to guess, I would say probably 25 of that 31% are in the "important, but we want good policing" camp. And it probably brings us pretty much in line with Republicans. Certainly close enough that we shouldn't quibble about it when there is a cray cray nutball we can all agree we need to send packing, Trump.

I truly appreciate the data link you provided.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

47. Yeah I went back and forth on your using "highly" and whether that incuded "very" or not.

I truly appreciate the data link you provided.

No problem. The only issue I have with it is that everyone has a different idea of what "good policing" is.

[Lonestarblue]

23. The FBI warned more than a decade ago that white supremacists were infiltrating police departments.

Nothing was done to stop them. White supremacists love Trump because he is one of them.

[brewens]

25. PDs are heavily infested with oaf creeping white supremacists. They are militarized and getting more so for a purpose.

They intend to be able to enforce a right-wing takeover. It's never worked before, but they intend to be brutal enough to make it work this time.

[dsp3000]

29. It really comes down to machismo and toxic masculinity.

[joshcryer]

30. Because most police organizations are criminal organizations.

[FoxNewsSucks]

33. All of the above replies are correct, plus republicons give them

lots of shiny toys to play with. All the military hardware, vehicles and gear they want.

The average cop today looks more like a SWAT or assault team member than actual SWAT teams 30 years ago.

[haele]

34. Police "Culture" - everyone's a criminal, and your job is to get paid and go home after shift.

Andy Griffith types who want to help people in general are few and far between in the police force. Most who join the force are either ex-infantry with few other marketable skills, borderline bullies who didn't know what they want to do after high school and being a cop sounds like fun, or came from a family of cops so it was expected.
Don't mean to be "down" on a profession. I have met police who outside of uniform were average, reasonable, friendly neighbors. However, as a group, they all have the same attitude - the thin blue line against crime. So everyone not in the uniform is a potential criminal or cop killer.
In essence, Fear is their mind-killer.
Being an strict authoritarian puts them above those that can hurt them. Which gives the bullies and reactionary drifter types that join free range to act out against the public in general whenever they feel someone is questioning their authority.
And Republicans approve of that method of policing.

Haele

[muriel_volestrangler]

36. They want as much immunity for their deeds as possible

and a bunch of corrupt MFers in the federal government will help that.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

37. I think Rage Against the Machine addressed that way back in 1992

&t=132s

"Some of those that work forces
are the same that burn crosses."

[Emile]

41. Fascists are attracted to a fascist government.

[Oopsie Daisy]

42. I wonder if the boisterous "Defund the Police" slogan from people like Cori Bush and others may have *

* had something to do with tarnishing the reputation of Democrats and Democratic leaders. It was a massive mistake that continues to haunt us.

Some extremists meant it LITERALLY (ie: no more police at all) others intended it to mean that sufficient funds should be reallocated for crisis intervention and other protective services that did not involved the police.

But, sadly, the poorly-considered and wrong-headed "defund" message persisted. And, as many people have said before... "If you're explaining, then you're losing." (or you've already lost the argument/battle).

I still cringe when I hear it.

https://rollcall.com/2022/04/27/defund-the-police-still-haunts-democrats/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/05/politics/defund-the-police-democrats/index.html


FYI:
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/roll-call/
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/left/cnn-bias/

[Amishman]

53. This is definitely a factor

'defund the police' was an absolute disaster of a slogan, particularly since it's most literal interpretation is not at all what most of us wanted.

Also the perception that we are soft on homelessness and migrants doesn't help

[-misanthroptimist]

43. Police organizations are almost all corrupt

That's why.

We hear the "few bad apples" argument about cops all the time. But the fact of the matter is that almost the entire bushel is involved in covering for those "few bad apples." Guess what, that makes almost the entire bushel bad apples.

All law enforcement should be required to carry liability insurance to be employed as a PO. The market will quickly weed out the worst of them. That will end others (who otherwise might not be bad) from covering up for them.

[hatrack]

44. Always more money, always less accountability . . . .

It's the GOP/FOP way of life.

[kimbutgar]

45. My cousin was a police officer in SF

He retired after 30 years and moved out to the suburbs of the Bay area he is a full blown maga and is a black man who could pass for white like me. He told me I should stop posting anti convicted stuff on FB but I post something everyday and he finally unfriended me!

And I was his favorite cousin!

[scarletlib]

48. Their life. Your death.

[rsdsharp]

49. Well, Trump has endorsed police violence.

&pp=ygUedHJ1bXAgcGxlYXNlIGRvbid0IGJlIHRvbyBuaWNl

What’s the saying? Police officers don’t become psychopaths. Psychopaths become police officers.

[RandySF]

51. Authoritarian

[doc03]

52. Cause cops are authoratarian in nature. Law enforcement attracts many of

those types.

[moondust]

57. +1

As does the military. Some people seem to be more compatible with and predisposed toward authoritarianism.

[Faux pas]

54. Because

they're all in on the screw everybody's rights shit

[The Magistrate]

55. Bullies And Cowards Know Their Own....

[Cirsium]

56. Here is a question

Can someone explain to me why anyone who endorses Trump is in any position of power or authority? That is unacceptable. Endorsing Trump is not an endorsement of a "different political view." It is an endorsement of lawlessness, an endorsement of a criminal conspiracy to overthrow the country, it is a rejection of democracy, an ongoing threat. It is an endorsement of fascism.

Also, the question - why do police organizations endorse Trump? - is off. It is yet another form of normalizing the MAGA phenomenon. Endorsement is such a bland word. It normalizes a very serious threat.

Why do fascists have guns and badges and immunity? Let's ask that question. Let's stop pretending that any of this is remotely acceptable. Municipal police aligning with a fascist movement should be sending up every red flag and sounding every alarm bell. This never ends well.

By the way, the head of the MPA agrees with me that this is not about politics as usual. “That’s why the MPA is endorsing the presidential ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance because addressing these issues isn’t political. It’s truly a matter of life and death to Milwaukee.” They see this as a war, and we are their enemy.

[Zoomie1986]

58. Most of them are fascists

Just like he is. Same racism. Same yearning for authoritarian rule, where they can hurt all the people they hate, with impunity.