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FIRST ON FOX: Former President Trump said he would deploy military resources to fight the fentanyl crisis and “do maximum damage” to cartel operations if elected in 2024, and would seek the death penalty for convicted drug dealers and human traffickers.
Trump outlined his proposed policy for ending drug addiction in America in a new campaign video obtained by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
“For three decades prior to my election, overdose deaths increased every year. Under my leadership, we tackled the drug and fentanyl crisis head-on and achieved the first reduction in overdose deaths in more than 30 years.” Trump said in the video.
“Unfortunately, under Joe Biden, our hard-won progress has been abandoned, along with the surrender of our southern border — such a shame,” Trump continued. “Now fentanyl and other ultra-lethal poisons are flowing unchecked into our country — stealing more than 100,000 American lives every year.”
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Former President Trump vows to take tough new steps against drug cartels if he is elected president again in 2024. (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump lashed out at Biden, saying his record “is one of death, destruction and misery in communities across our country.”
“When I get back to the White House, I will take action on day one to end this horrific scourge and save American lives,” he said. “Joe Biden will never solve the drug overdose crisis because he is actively destroying our border.”
Trump said he would impose a full naval embargo on drug cartels and deploy military resources to crack down on cartel operations, while urging the “full cooperation” of neighboring governments to “dismantle” the smuggling and smuggling network in the region.
In addition to urging Congress to impose the death penalty on drug dealers and traffickers, he said he would direct U.S. federal law enforcement to take down gangs and organized street crime that distribute deadly narcotics on a local level.
“They’re killing our people, they’re poisoning our beautiful children,” Trump said. He said he would permanently designate fentanyl as a federally controlled substance, warning China that it would “pay a high price” if it did not “strain” the export of fentanyl chemical precursors.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized more than 1.2 million fentanyl pills between two arrests on Dec. 29. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
“I had worked out a deal with President Xi,” Trump said. “They wouldn’t send anymore, and they would impose the death penalty on those who made it to China.”
During his administration, Trump negotiated a deal with Beijing to tackle production of those precursors. Trump berated President Biden for walking away from that agreement.
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“Strengthening the supply of these deadly drugs will be just the beginning,” Trump said, adding that he would help “strengthen the pillars that give meaning and hope to life for those struggling with addiction — particularly work.” , faith and family.”
Trump’s proposal includes expanding federal support for faith-based counseling, treatment and recovery programs for drug users. He said he recognizes “that we will need God’s help to get our country out of this crisis”.
Trump also suggested that any parent, child, spouse or family member who needs time to care for a family member fighting to kick addiction could “benefit” from a family leave program.
“My administration will support measures to make it easier for addicts to get treatment without losing their jobs,” Trump said.
A Families Against Fentanyl billboard near Peck Road in El Monte, California, on Thursday, April 6, 2023. Jim Rauh founded Families Against Fentanyl after the substance claimed the life of his 37-year-old son Thomas in 2015. . (Photo by Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
“If I’m president, we won’t rest until we end America’s drug addiction crisis,” he said. “We will win. It will happen. However, we must win in 2024, because our country is going to hell.”
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Trump’s plan builds on the actions taken during his administration to fight America’s drug crisis.
In 2017, Trump declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency and launched the initiative to end opioid abuse and reduce drug supply and demand.
Fentanyl seized in Nogales, Arizona. Border agents and agents seized more than 1,900 pounds of the illegal drug last year. (CBP)
According to officials, the amount of fentanyl seized at the border more than tripled between 2020 and 2022. Fentanyl deaths in the US are up 94% since 2019 and are now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45.
Trump campaign officials point to President Biden’s record, saying hundreds of thousands of pounds of “deadly drugs” are now pouring into the US as a result of the “wide open border”
Brooke Singman is a digital political reporter for Fox News. You can reach her at Brooke.Singman@Fox.com or @BrookeSingman on Twitter.
