Blue Magazine, a publication owned and operated by active and retired law enforcement officers, has named President Donald Trump its 2020 Man of the Year.
Tom Homan, a career law enforcement officer whose service includes working as an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and as a special agent tasked with human trafficking, was asked to write about why Trump was selected.
Homan, who was Blue Magazine’s 2019 Man of the Year, said the president was the first to call him to offer his congratulations:
In my humble opinion, he has been Man of the Year since his inauguration, because from day one of him sitting in the Oval Office, he has supported law enforcement and first responders like no other president in my lifetime. I have worked for six different presidents starting with Ronald Reagan and I respected every president I ever worked for. However, let me be clear, no president has done more for the men and women that carry that badge and gun than Trump. That is a stone-cold fact based on his words and actions. The person in the Oval Office greatly impacts the people on the front lines of law enforcement. The president sets the tone — either by what they say and do, or by what they don’t say and don’t do. No comparison, not even close.
As President Trump stated in September “America needs creation, not destruction; cooperation, not contempt; security, not anarchy; healing, not hatred; justice, not chaos. This is our mission, and we will succeed.” In that same month he signed a memorandum to hold local politicians accountable for refusing to protect their communities from rioting, looting and mass property destruction. The memorandum directs agencies to identify federal funds provided to Seattle, Portland, New York City, and Washington, D.C., and the authorities available to withhold funds. The Department of Justice, in consultation with other federal agencies, will consider a number of factors, including whether the city defunded the police or prevented local law enforcement from intervening to restore order.
Earlier this year, under the president’s direction, the Department of Justice launched Operation Legend to surge federal resources to cities and jurisdictions plagued by violence and crime. Since the operation’s launch, there have been more than 2,000 arrests, including defendants who have been charged in state and local courts. Of those arrests, approximately 592 defendants have been charged with federal crimes. In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has seized 587 firearms, more than 1.2 kilos of heroin and more than five kilos of methamphetamine; the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has seized almost 70 kilos of methamphetamine, more than 16 kilos of heroin, more than 7 kilos of fentanyl, more than 12 kilos of cocaine, 268 firearms and approximately $5.19 million in drug proceeds; the FBI has recovered 241 weapons; and the U.S. Marshals Service has recovered 169 firearms and made 1,810 arrests, including 163 for homicide and 120 for sexual assault.
Homan noted Trump revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods to bring together cops and communities.
Trump also established an Executive Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice to study key issues facing law enforcement, including substance abuse, homelessness and mental illness.
Homan noted how Trump uses his public speeches to praise the men and women in blue, including in September at a rally in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
C-SPAN“The Democrat Party’s war on cops is putting our police officers at risk,” Trump said. “As president, I will always stand with the heroes of law enforcement. We will hire more police, increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement.”
At another rally in September in Newport News, Virginia, Trump said: “With your vote, I will preserve our Constitution and ensure law and order. We will hire more police, increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement, and we will ban deadly sanctuary cities. Ban them.”
And at another September rally in Jacksonville, Florida, Trump backed the blue. He said:
Every year, dozens of courageous police officers lay down their lives for people that they never met, people that they don’t know, people they never saw, in most cases. They lay down their lives for people they never have met. They’re incredible. Law enforcement; let’s give them a hand, please. As president, I will always stand with the men and women of law enforcement.
Homan listed the support for Trump from law enforcement agencies across the country, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Officers, the International Union of Police Associations, the National Association of Police Organizations, NYC Police Benevolent Association, and the Texas Municipal Police Association.
“It’s time we come out in full force on Election Day to vote for the man who has our backs, ” Homan wrote. “President Trump, let me be the first to say, you have truly earned this Man of the Year award. Blue Magazine appreciates and supports you.”
“Congratulations to the finest president in my lifetime from the men and women of law enforcement,” Homan concluded.
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