During the 2020 presidential campaign, Donald Trump attacked leftist Joe Biden on drug policy and criminal justice issues, blasting him for pushing tough laws that disproportionately harm Black people. Trump is trying the same tactic again this time, painting Biden as a racist eager to lock up African Americans. “We must not forget that Joe Biden was a key figure in passing the 1994 crime bill, which passed tough sentencing laws and increased incarceration rates, disproportionately harming the black community.
That stance is consistent with some of Trump’s record as president, including his support for the First Step Act, the sentencing and prison reform package he signed into law in December 2018. Blatantly inconsistent with Trump’s current drug policy and criminal justice agenda, which favors aggressive law enforcement, harsh penalties, and impunity for police abuse.
Like Biden, who in 2022 pledged to “defeat the opioid epidemic” by “ending opioid use.”[ping] Trump indulged in the familiar fantasy that interceptions could prevent Americans from consuming politically unpopular narcotics. Deploying “military assets” to “cause” he warned that if the United States did not get “the full cooperation of other governments to stop this threat,” he warned, “we will expose every bribe, every kickback, every bribe and every bit of corruption ”. Cartels to maintain their brutal rule. “
Trump’s insistence that he is a tougher anti-drug crusader than Biden is difficult to reconcile with his portrayal of Biden as an overzealous drug crusader with no regard for the damage his legislation has caused. Trump doesn’t offer much evidence from his own presidential record that determination and violence can defeat the economics of prohibition. “In the three decades before I was elected,” he said, “drug overdose deaths increased year by year. We faced the drug and fentanyl crisis head-on and achieved the first reduction in overdose deaths in more than three decades.”
Trump was referring to a slight decline in drug-related deaths between 2017 and 2018. He failed to mention that the numbers picked up again in 2019 and 2020, reaching record levels during his administration — a trend that has continued after he left office. Contrary to Trump’s claims, the 1.7% drop he highlighted does not indicate that his idea of ”ending the scourge of drug addiction in America” is better than Biden’s.
In addition to deploying U.S. military force against drug cartels, Trump also pledged to “bring down the gangs that distribute these deadly drugs at the local level.” This will lead to mass arrests and mass incarcerations, leading to what Trump has denounced as “increased incarceration rates.” Just as the policies Biden supported as a senator “disproportionately harmed the Black community,” so will the crackdown Trump is considering.
Trump said he would also “ask Congress to ensure that drug dealers, kingpins and human traffickers receive the death penalty.” Executing drug traffickers is not a new idea for Trump, who has recommended the policy many times over the years. But it’s at odds with his criticism of Biden’s legislative record, his condemnation of “grossly unfair” drug penalties, reduced sentences for nonviolent drug offenders who receive those penalties, and his support for sentencing reform.
The most high-profile beneficiary of Trump’s clemency is first-time offender Alice Johnson, who is serving a life sentence for her role in a Memphis cocaine trafficking operation. “There are a lot of people like Mrs. Johnson,” Trump told Fox News in 2018, “some of whom are serving long prison terms.” Trump in his 2019 State of the Union address, 2020 Super Bowl ad, and 2020 Republican National Convention Johnson’s case was highlighted at the meeting, where Johnson gave a speech of thanks.
As a black woman who received a harsh sentence under inflexible drug laws, Johnson is a useful piece of evidence in Trump’s case that African American voters should be grateful to him and wary of Biden. But after Trump reintroduced the death penalty proposal in 2023 interview On Fox News, his kindness collided with his bloodlust.
Trump was confused when Bret Baier pointed out that people like Johnson “would be killed under your plan.” “No, no, no,” he said. “It will depend on the severity,” he added. He also noted that the death penalty he imagined would not apply retroactively to Johnson herself, saying if the law had been that way at the time, it would have prevented her from participating in the drug trade.
By then, Trump had become disillusioned with sentencing reform. In 2022 interview New York Times Journalist Maggie Haberman complained bitterly that he was not getting the political rewards he expected from supporting the First Step Act. “This is for African Americans,” he told her. “No one else could have done this. Zero credit.”
Despite his disappointing experience, Trump is trying again, and his enthusiasm for the drug war isn’t the only reason for skepticism about its propaganda. His anti-crime agenda reflects his authoritarian instincts and includes a pledge to “strengthen qualified immunity and other protections for police officers.”
As critics across the political spectrum have pointed out for years, the qualified immunity doctrine bars federal civil rights claims unless they allege a violation of “clearly stated” laws, often shielding police (and other government officials) from brazen bear responsibility for their actions. But in Trump’s view, this shield is not big enough or strong enough.
Trump promised to “compensate” the police for “any and all liability.” He apparently failed to realize that in the rare cases where police officers were held accountable for abuse they had received routine compensation, and he implausibly believed that the threat of liability had a paralyzing effect, preventing police officers from carrying out their duties. If strengthening qualified immunity does not work, Trump also promised to give police “immunity from prosecution” for violating people’s rights.
Trump believes that total impunity for police abuse is necessary to “restore safety, dignity and peace to law-abiding Americans.” In his view, remedies for police abuse, such as insisting that police abide by the Constitution or authorizing criminal charges and civil rights lawsuits when police fail to abide by the Constitution, are dangerous to public order. He believes police officers should not have to worry that they may face charges or lawsuits for breaking the law or even breaking the law while doing their jobs.
Given this stance, Trump may have a hard time convincing black voters that he’s on their side. as reasonBilly Binion pointed to survey data showing that these voters want Trump’s promise of law and order, but not at the expense of armed state agents.
Trump’s positions on drug policy and criminal justice are completely inconsistent. He said mass incarceration is bad, although he recommended policies to incarcerate more people without violating anyone’s rights. He believes drug laws that disproportionately harm African Americans are troubling but should be enforced more aggressively. He said a life sentence for Alice Johnson was clearly unjust, but the death penalty was appropriate. He believes that Biden is a blind punisher, but Trump is preferable because he is tougher. Logically, Trump can’t have it both ways, but that won’t stop him from trying.
