Trump calls for “very quick trial” and death penalty for drug dealers

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday hinted at his vision for a possible return to the Oval Office by saying in a speech in Washington, DC that the nation needs to crack down on crime and put drug dealers under the death penalty. In a speech to the conservative nonprofit America First Policy Institute, Trump said drug traffickers should be executed after a “very quick process.”

“The penalties should be very, very severe,” Trump said during Tuesday’s speech, as quoted by The Hill. “If you look at countries around the world, the ones that don’t have a drug problem are the ones that have a very quick death penalty for drug dealers.”

Trump added that if the authorities cracked down on crime, the United States would not face the problems related to illegal drugs. He praised other countries that have fast-track procedures for suspected drug dealers.

“It’s awful to say, but look at any country in the world that doesn’t have a drug problem, they have a very severe death penalty for people who sell drugs,” he said.

“Sounds awful, doesn’t it? But, you know what? Those are the ones who don’t have problems. It takes less than 15 years in court. It’s fast, and you absolutely – you execute a drug dealer and you’re going to save 500 lives,” the former president continued.

At one point in his speech, Trump applauded the way Chinese President Xi Jinping dealt with drug traffickers and recalled a time Xi told him about “fast track procedures” for drug criminals in China, which he used for sentencing people in China “Two hours” estimated.

Trump’s appearance at the two-day America First Policy Institute summit marked the first time the former president has spoken publicly in Washington, DC, since leaving office in January 2021. His comments about harshly punishing drug dealers came in a speech calling on the nation to crack down on crime and support law enforcement and its officers.

The former president calls for an American police state

Trump said the country was becoming unsafe for its citizens and highlighted instances of attacks on ordinary Americans in cities like Washington, DC and Philadelphia that have been widely reported by conservative media.

“The dangerously disturbed roam our streets with impunity. We live in such a different country for one main reason: there is no more respect for the law and certainly no order. Our country is now a cesspool of crime,” Trump said just 18 months after leaving office at the end of his first term.

Trump called for a huge increase in police officers across the country, saying there should be a police car on every corner. He called for an “unauthorized national campaign to break up gangs and organized street crime in America.” The former president also called for efforts to end violence “and be tough and nasty and mean when you have to”.

“We live in such a different country for one main reason: there is no more respect for the law and certainly no order. Our country is now a crime pit,” Trump said.

“We are a failing nation,” he added just 18 months after leaving office.

Trump also said camps should be moved from vulnerable people in cities to “large plots of cheap land on the outskirts of town.” The former president added that such camps should also have tents manned by healthcare professionals, including doctors and psychologists.

To fight crime, Trump argued that the president should ignore state authority by deploying the National Guard and “going beyond the governor,” completely ignoring the Republican Party’s oft-repeated support for states’ rights.

“When governors refuse to protect their people, we have to bring in what’s necessary anyway,” Trump said, adding, “The next president needs to send the National Guard into Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods until security can be restored.”

Trump has a history of backing draconian tactics when dealing with drug dealers and other criminals. In 2017, he called then-President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to commend him for his crackdown on drug dealers, which resulted in the killings of an estimated 12,000 people by police and vigilantes.

“I just wanted to congratulate you on hearing about the incredible work being done on the drug problem,” Trump reportedly said, referring to the spate of extrajudicial deaths in the country. “A lot of countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call you and tell you that.”