by Nick Castele
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani visited the Cleveland Police Patrolmen鈥檚 Association union hall on Tuesday to accept the group鈥檚 endorsement of Republican Donald Trump for president.
The Cleveland police union voted at the end of the last week to endorse Trump for president, a rare foray by the group into national politics.
Lynn Hampton, the president of local African-American officers鈥� group Black Shield, had criticized the union鈥檚 decision to endorse.
But union president Steve Loomis defended the endorsement while introducing Giuliani.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 make us bigots, that doesn鈥檛 make us racists, that doesn鈥檛 make us sexists, that makes us Americans,鈥� Loomis said.
Also on hand to endorse Trump was Gary Wolske, vice president with the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police.
In his remarks, Giuliani criticized nationwide protests against shootings by police, and he mentioned the two police officers killed by a gunman in New York in 2014. He said local police officers should assist federal law enforcement in preventing terror attacks.
Speaking to an audience of Cleveland officers, Giuliani accused Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton of not supporting law enforcement.
鈥淪he doesn鈥檛 like you, she doesn鈥檛 agree with you, she comes out against you, and if you vote for her, you鈥檙e out of your mind,鈥� Giuliani said. That line received applause from the room.
Giuliani also criticized the Justice Department鈥檚 police reform efforts in such cities as Baltimore and Cleveland, saying President Obama and Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch exhibited bias against police.
鈥淚 would say that they are so biased and they are so prejudiced, and they have made such incendiary statements about the police, that they should have recused themselves from those cases and handed them over to independent prosecutors,鈥� he said.
Asked about the Black Shield president鈥檚 criticism of the Trump endorsement, Giuliani said he didn鈥檛 believe this endorsement would hurt the relationship between Cleveland police and the local black community. He asked African-Americans in Cleveland to listen to him with an open mind.
鈥淲hat the Democrats have given you is a lot of crime, a lot of unemployment, and schools that stink,鈥� Giuliani said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e going to give you if you continue to vote for Democrats. Give us a chance to straighten that out.鈥�
