Donald Trump gets endorsement, speaks to Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Donald Trump returned to the battleground state of North Carolina on Friday to address a meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Trump addressed FOP's National Board of Trustees fall meeting in Charlotte. The FOP, the world's largest organization of law enforcement officers, endorsed Trump's reelection bid in 2020, with its president saying on behalf of its 373,000 members that Trump had "made it crystal clear that he has our backs."

Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, announced Friday that the members of the FOP voted to again endorse Trump for president.

"Public safety and border security will be important issues in the last months of this campaign," Yoes said. "Our members carefully considered the positions of the candidates on the issues and there was no doubt - zero doubt - as to who they want as our president for the next four years: Donald J. Trump."

A packed house awaited Trump on Friday at the Hilton Charlotte University Place. The former president, who said he was "deeply honored" to receive the endorsement, entered to rousing chants from the crowd, which consisted of hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the country.

Trump delivered a message saying that this was the most important election in the history of the nation.

For nearly an hour, the former president spoke about his love for North Carolina and his hopes to give law enforcement the power to keep communities safe.

He told the audience that America's cities are "under siege" and vowed to change that should he return to the Oval Office.

"We will restore public safety to our streets, we will bring back law and order to our nation, and we will give the heroes in blue the power to legally protect us and the respect that you deserve more than any other group of people," Trump said.

The imagery of the former president and GOP nominee in a room of law enforcement officers offered Trump the platform to contrast their support with his characterization of Vice President Kamala Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general whom Trump has called the "ringleader" of a "Marxist attack on law enforcement" across the country.

"Kamala Harris will deliver crime, chaos, destruction and death," Trump said last month in Michigan, one of many generalizations about an America under Harris. "You'll see levels of crime that you've never seen before. ... I will deliver law, order, safety and peace."

Harris has tried to showcase her status as a one-time top prosecutor in her home state, regularly saying "I know Donald Trump's type" after she talks about the "perpetrators of all kinds" in her former roles.

On Friday, several Democratic sheriffs reacted to the FOP's Trump endorsement by advocating for Harris, including Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.

"Vice President Harris knows how to deliver for her law enforcement officers because she was one," Birkhead said. "Over the next four years, she will continue to build on the progress that communities like mine have already seen in action. I'm not the only law enforcement officer who feels this way ... In fact, I am proud to join more than 100 law enforcement officials across the country who have signed on to a letter today to endorse Vice President Harris for president."

Trump, while accusing Harris and other Democratic leadership of living in safety protected by big walls as they allow crime rates to go up, mocked the attack that Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband had suffered, saying her walls didn't help her too much.

"Kamala Harris and the radical liberals force anarchy on the American people, while they - they live in safety and in many cases behind walls. You know that Nancy Pelosi has a big wall wrapped around her house. Of course, it didn't help too much with the problems she had. Did it?" Trump said.

Trump said that during the Biden-Harris administration, there had been a 43% increase in violent crime - including a 58% increase in rape, and an 89% increase in aggravated assault. He added that assaults on police officers are "up a minimum of 32% ... and shootings of our police officers are up 16%."

"The day I take the oath of office is the day that Kamala's crime wave comes to an end," Trump said.

SEE ALSO | Former President Donald Trump to speak in Charlotte this week

During another Charlotte rally, Trump in July won the endorsement of the National Organization of Police Organizations, whose leadership lauded his "steadfast and very public support for our men and women on the front lines."

In February, the International Union of Police Associations endorsed Trump, calling his support for officers "unmatched." Last month, he won the backing of the Arizona Police Association, just days after the group endorsed Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego over Trump ally Kari Lake in that state's Senate race.

"During his first term, President Trump made it clear he supported law enforcement and border security," Yoes said. "In the summer of 2020, he stood with us when very few would. With his help, we defeated the 'defund the police' movement and, finally, we are seeing crime rates decrease. If we want to maintain these lower crime rates, we must re-elect Donald Trump."

As expected, security was tight in Charlotte following the assassination attempt that happened in July.

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ABC News and The Associated Press contributed.