By Joanna Putman
Police1
AUSTIN, Texas — Former President Donald Trump appeared on the “Joe Rogan Experience,” speaking on topics of crime, law enforcement and officer wellbeing.
During the podcast discussion, which aired on Oct. 25, the two mentioned deflated crime statistics that they alleged do not reflect the true state of crime in the U.S., as well as the dangers officers face both on and off duty.
Crime
“And by the way, the [FBI crime] statistics were a fraud because when they put out the statistics, they didn’t include some of the worst places. They didn’t include some of the worst cities, some of the most deadly places. But when the real numbers came out, I turned out to be right,” Trump said.
To address crime statistics, Trump pointed to the first presidential debate of the election season. The FBI’s 2022 crime report, which referenced a decrease in violent crime, was cited during the Sept. 10 debate.
When Trump spoke on an increase in crime during the Biden presidency, ABC moderator David Muir responded with a “fact check,” correcting Trump in accordance with the FBI report.
Trump responded during the debate that the FBI’s crime statistics were fraudulent and that they did not include the most crime-heavy cities. In his discussion with Rogan, Trump stated that since the Sept. 10 debate, the FBI released an update to the crime statistics report.
Dangers of policing
“It’s so sad what’s happened. And I’ll tell you what — I go to police funerals. We went to one in Long Island. I visited the family in Long Island, a very big deal. It’s so dangerous. People don’t realize — the car, dark windows, [they] pull over. [The officer is] a gentleman. ‘Please pull over.’ Door opens, guy comes out firing. Even if they were allowed to pull out their gun, which they’re not, they still wouldn’t have time.”
Trump addressed the dangers of policing by discussing different situations officers could face on the job. He spoke about attending the funeral of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller and about the circumstances surrounding his death. Diller was killed when a suspect suddenly shot him during a traffic stop.
He said that in situations where potentially lethal force is necessary, officers have very little time to consider the situation and are given little support if they choose to fire the gun.
“And it’s very hard to get cops now because they’re not given any backup. And you’re right, you know — they have like an eighth of a second to make a decision that’s going to change their life. If they make the wrong decision, they’re going to end up on the front page of every newspaper in the country. They’re going to lose their house, their pension, their job … everything’s going to be gone.”
Officer wellbeing
“But we have to give them back their dignity. We have to. We can’t — we just have to give them back their dignity. You said it so good. You never hear anybody say that. You’re never going to have it perfect. You’re going to have a bad apple in everything, every profession. But every time there’s a bad apple, it gets massive publicity and it taints everybody else,” Trump said.
Rogan transitioned to speak on officer wellness and morale.
“How many of them have PTSD? Probably most of them. These (officers) are seeing people shot all the time. You know, I’ve talked to a ton of cops about it. A lot of cops (die by) suicide, a lot of cops are deeply depressed,” Rogan said.
Trump responded, stating that the publicity given to incidents of officer misconduct is harmful to other officers.
Research shows that police officers face a higher risk of dying by suicide compared to the general public and they are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty, according to CNA.
In recent years, the focus on mental health support within the law enforcement community has intensified, leading to strategies like peer support programs and trauma-focused therapies. Matt Walsh, Deputy Executive Director of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), spoke with Policing Matters Podcast Host Jim Dudley about suicides among law enforcement officers and strategies departments can take to address mental wellness of officers.
For additional resources, you can explore this article on police suicide prevention or visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) at www.afsp.org, a leading organization in suicide awareness and advocacy.
