Tipsheet

Second Major Florida Police Association Backs DeSantis Over Trump

The Florida Police Chiefs Association announced its plans to back 2024 GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (Fla), flipping their decision to endorse the governor rather than former President Trump. 

Back in June, the 3,000 strong Florida Police Benevolent Association touted DeSantis's efforts to fight crime brought on by the Biden Administration, saying he is the "most effective governor in the nation."

The men and women in the police union said endorsing the governor could not be any more transparent and have no doubts that DeSantis will make public safety his top priority should he make it to the White House. 

Both previously backed Trump in 2020, but has since flipped their position, praising DeSantis’s tough stance on crime. 

"In major cities and communities across America, many Americans are grappling with increased crime rates that not only jeopardize public safety but also threaten the quality of life in their communities," the group's president, John Kazanjian, said. 

He criticized the Left's woke agenda of attempting to de-fund the police, saying the progressive ideology has failed America. 

Florida has invested over $100 million to increase officers' salaries and $20 million to support the fight against fentanyl— which has killed countless lives in recent years. 

In 2020, the law enforcement group made its first official endorsement in over eight years when it called for Trump to be re-elected "to keep America safe."

DeSantis has been a longtime fighter to protect his home state of Florida and has since vowed to keep the U.S. safe if elected the Republican nominee. 

Much of his time spent on the campaign trail has been to obliterate President Joe Biden's soft-on-crime policies, blasting him for failing to put criminals behind bars and allowing illegal aliens to roam free in the U.S. 

Last month, DeSantis released an ad from his visit to crime-ridden San Francisco where he pointed out how using deadly drugs such as crack cocaine and heroin on the streets is normal. 

"The city is not vibrant anymore," DeSantis said. "It's really collapsed because of Leftist policies… they don't prosecute criminals as they do in most parts of the country." 

DeSantis also said that he would try to repeal the First Step Act of 2018 if elected. This Trump-approved bipartisan bill reduced some federal sentences considered excessive and sought to improve federal prison. 

DeSantis told conservative host Ben Shapiro that Trump had signed "basically a jailbreak bill" that "has allowed dangerous people out of prison who have now re-offended, and really, really hurt a number of people."