Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that public safety was the “birthright” of every American citizen, while contrasting the administration’s record in supporting law enforcement with that of Democrats.
Vance made the remarks at a National Police Week address to the Fraternal Order of Police and other law enforcement organizations at the Capitol.
“You’re always going to have terrible people who want to do the worst things, but allowing so many of those people free rein, allowing so many of them to strike at our law enforcement officers, ladies and gentlemen, that was a policy choice,” Vance said, pointing to Congress behind him.
The vice president promised that the Trump administration “will never again let policymakers in the building behind us allow violent criminals to tee off on our police officers.” Vance also underscored the White House’s record of supporting law enforcement officers, telling the audience, “We stopped handcuffing the police and started handcuffing more violent criminals.”
“We’ve restored a culture that supports — not second-guesses — our officers when they go out and do their important work,” the vice president said. “We’ve ended the shameful practice of micro-management of state and local police started by the last administration.”
Vance closed his remarks by arguing that security should not be treated as a privilege reserved for wealthy Americans or public officials with government protection. He noted that as vice president, he was entitled to a Secret Service security detail, but that most people were not so lucky and could only rely on the police.
“One of the great things about the United States of America is it was founded on the basic principle that whether you were rich or poor, or black or white, everybody deserves safety and security and peace in their neighborhoods,” Vance told the crowd. “Security is not just something for the rich and the powerful.”
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“Security is something that ought to be the birthright of every single American child and every single American family,” Vance added. “You are the people who fight for that principle, who enforce that principle, who protect that principle. I am forever indebted to you.”
Republicans have increasingly leaned on public safety and support for law enforcement as a political contrast with Democrats since the 2020 George Floyd protests, as some Democrats actively embrace the “defund the police” movement.