Sheriff of Kenosha County: I'm Endorsing President Trump Because He Was With us When we Needed Him
Kenosha County, Wisconsin Sheriff David Beth is throwing his support behind President Donald Trump in this year’s election, writing that Trump’s “swift and bold response to support our law enforcement family and my community made it clear that he’s the strong leader Wisconsin and America needs.”
“Some politicians are hesitant to take a strong stand with law enforcement, but not our president. I worry about the future of our country for my children and my grandchildren, so does the president,” Beth wrote in a USA Today commentary piece published Saturday.
“President Trump refuses to cave to those who continue to demonize law enforcement and scapegoat the police. He stands proudly shoulder to shoulder with the men and women of law enforcement.”
The sheriff’s county, home to the city of Kenosha, has been an epicenter of unrest since the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 23.
Blake, who had a warrant out for his arrest in a sexual assault case, was shot by Kenosha police as he reached into the driver’s side of his vehicle during a confrontation with officers. The Wisconsin Department of Justice said a knife was found on the floorboard of his SUV, according to the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal.
The shooting rekindled protests and riots across the nation and made Kenosha a new hot-spot of unrest. According to WTMJ-TV, local officials estimated earlier this month that damage could run in the ballpark of $30 million to $50 million.
In the commentary piece, Beth praised President Trump for the federal assistance he got after a round-table meeting with the president earlier this month.
“I saw first-hand the support, gratitude and steadfast resolve our president holds for the law enforcement community. The president arrived with a plan to provide the critical resources needed to keep our community safe,” Beth wrote.
“When the violence began, we had immediately put in the call to have local and state resources respond to the situation. Many responded, but we still needed more help. This is where the president stepped up and offered us the full resources of the federal government.
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“’Whatever you need, it’s coming,’ the president relayed to me.”
Federal support was key in “quelling the violence,” Beth said, adding that Trump has backing from law enforcement in Wisconsin.
“It’s not just me. Thirty-eight other Wisconsin sheriffs have also endorsed the president. President Trump is backing the blue and we are proud to back him,” Beth wrote.
“At a time when violence is popping up in communities across the country, picking our nation’s top leader is more important than ever. Wisconsin, and all of America, needs a leader who will uphold the law, or we won’t have a country left.”
It’s little secret Wisconsin is a key swing state this November. While the Badger State is usually a Democratic stronghold in presidential elections, Trump won it in 2016. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Joe Biden is currently up by 7 points in the state.
Beth, however, thought the president’s “law and order” message would resonate.
“President Trump will never abandon law enforcement and I am confident that voters across Wisconsin and America will agree,” Beth wrote.
“When I entered law enforcement 38 years ago, I vowed to work as hard as I could to improve the quality of life for all citizens. I look for the same qualities in a presidential candidate, and President Donald Trump is the only one who will answer the call and stand up for the great police and sheriff’s departments, and do what is right for the American people.”
It’s always interesting to see how various media outlets report endorsements like these. In the case of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the newspaper wrote that Beth had “jumped into the national political fray by endorsing President Donald Trump’s reelection.”
Imagine that — an elected official “jump[ing] into the national political fray” by making a political endorsement, particularly in the midst of local turbulence with national implications.
Just in case you didn’t get the point, the Journal-Sentinel defended Wisconsin’s Democrat governor, Tony Evers.
“Early on in the crisis, Beth said Gov. Tony Evers did not reject any proposal from Kenosha law enforcement and worked with them to mobilize more National Guard troops,” the Journal-Sentinel reported.
“Republicans have said Evers did not do enough in the early days of the unrest.”
I was unaware Evers was running for president. I distinctly remember, in fact, the names Joe Biden and Kamala Harris being on the Democratic ticket. Both made a big to-do about meeting with Jacob Blake and/or his family, which is great copy for the party’s liberal base and probably not stellar if you’re looking to engender stability or feign fairness on the issue — not to mention the fact Blake is still charged with sexual assault.
Whatever the case, both Biden and Harris made it clear they were taking a stand against law enforcement.
It’s probably not coincidental Beth is taking a stand for President Trump, as are many other Wisconsin sheriffs (as well as the unions that represent the New York City Police Department the National Association of Police Organizations and the country’s Border Patrol agents, and numerous other law enforcement groups).
Whether or not the rest of Wisconsin agrees is a question for November.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
