Donald Trump claimed Monday that the U.S. armed forces had “conceptually” endorsed his run for the White House and that he had secured the backing of most police departments.
“I’ve been endorsed by virtually every police department and police group. And I’ve been endorsed largely, at least conceptually, by the military. We’ve had tremendous veteran endorsements because the veterans have been treated so unfairly,” the GOP presidential nominee told News4Jax after a meeting with first responders at a county sheriff’s office in St. Augustine, Florida.
Trump is once again embellishing the truth about his endorsements.
The National Fraternal Order of Police, a union representing its 325,000 members, endorsed Trump. So, too, did the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, a union representing 5,000 immigration officers. Ditto for the National Border Patrol Council, which represents some 16,500 immigration officers. But those groups don’t represent the totality of America’s police or border patrol.
Moreover, federal agencies are prohibited from engaging in political activity. As are active-duty military or civilian personnel, under Department of Defense guidelines.
Despite his veteran endorsements, Trump’s claim that the military supports him “conceptually” also doesn’t appear to stand up to scrutiny. According to a poll of military service members conducted in September by Military Times and Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Trump is statistically tied with Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson.
Trump’s disregard for the truth prompted St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, which he visited Monday in Florida, to issue a clarification on Twitter after the GOP nominee claimed the agency had endorsed him.
Honored to receive an endorsement from @SJSOPIO - thank you! Together, we are going to MAKE AMERICA SAFE & GREAT AGAIN!#LESM #MAGA pic.twitter.com/lKKuu10jn1
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 24, 2016
Comments have been made that SJSO has endorsed a candidate for president. The Sheriff’s Office has NOT made any official endorsement.
— SJSO (@SJSOPIO) October 24, 2016
