President Trump suggested Saturday the United States should consider a policy to sentence drug dealers to death.
“You kill one person, you get the death penalty in many states or you get life imprisonment,” Trump said during a rally in Moon Township, Pa. “You kill 5,000 people with drugs because you’re smuggling them in and you’re making a lot of money and people are dying, and they don’t put you in jail. They don’t do anything.”
He added, “But you might get 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. You might get a year. But you are not going to get, and then you wonder why we have a problem. That’s why we have a problem, folks. I don’t think we should play games.”
The president pointed to Singapore’s policy of giving drug dealers the death penalty, and said he was told the country has a “zero tolerance policy” with drugs.
“That means if we catch a drug dealer, death penalty,” Trump said of Singapore’s drug policy. “And they don’t have a problem.”
The president acknowledged the idea of executing drug dealers would receive significant criticism, but said the U.S. has to do more to address the opioid crisis.
“Probably you will have some people that say that’s not nice. But these people are killing our kids and they are killing our families. And we have to do something,” he said. “We can’t just keep setting up blue ribbon committees with your wife and your wife and your husband, and they meet and they have a meal and talk, talk, talk, talk. Two hours later, then they write a report.”
The president was in Pennsylvania for a rally for GOP congressional candidate Rick Saccone, who is running in the special election for the 18th Congressional District.
The Washington Post reported Friday the administration was looking into a new policy to let prosecutors seek the death penalty for convicted drug dealers.
“I think it’s a discussion we have to start thinking about. I don’t know if we’re ready. I don’t know if this country’s ready for it,” Trump said Saturday.
