Trump’s Anti-Crime Agenda Contradicts His Criticism of Biden’s Legislative Record
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Donald Trump attacked Joe Biden from the left on drug policy and criminal justice, slamming him for pushing harsh laws that had disproportionately hurt black people. Trump is trying that same tack again this time around, portraying Biden as a racist eager to lock up African Americans. “We must not forget that it was Joe Biden who was a key figure in passing the 1994 Crime Bill, which disproportionately harmed Black communities through harsh sentencing laws and increased incarceration rates,” Janiyah Thomas, the Trump campaign’s “black media director,” said in an emailed press release on Thursday.
That stance is consistent with aspects of Trump’s record as president, including his support for the FIRST STEP Act, a package of sentencing and prison reforms that he signed into law in December 2018. But it is blatantly inconsistent with Trump’s current drug policy and criminal justice agenda, which favors aggressive enforcement, severe penalties, and impunity for abusive police officers.
Like Biden, who in 2022 promised to “beat the opioid epidemic” by “stop[ping] the flow of illicit drugs,” Trump indulges in the familiar fantasy that interdiction can prevent Americans from consuming politically disfavored intoxicants. But Trump goes bigger, imagining “a full naval embargo on the drug cartels” and deployment of “military assets” to “inflict maximum damage” on them. If the U.S. does not get “the full cooperation of other governments to stop this menace,” he warns, “we will expose every bribe, every kickback, every payoff, and every bit of corruption that is allowing the cartels to preserve their brutal reign.”
Trump’s insistence that he is a tougher drug warrior than Biden is hard to reconcile with his portrayal of Biden as an overzealous drug warrior who was heedless of the damage his legislation did. And Trump does not offer much evidence from his own record as president that determination and violence can defeat the economics of prohibition. “For three decades before my election,” he says, “drug overdose deaths increased every single year. We took the drug and fentanyl crisis head on, and we achieved the first reduction in overdose deaths in more than 30 years.”
Trump is referring to a slight decrease in drug-related deaths between 2017 and 2018. He neglects to mention that the number went back up again in 2019 and 2020, reaching record levels during his administration—a trend that continued after he left office. Contrary to Trump’s spin, the 1.7 percent drop he highlights does not suggest his ideas for “Ending the Scourge of Drug Addiction in America” are any better than Biden’s.
In addition to deploying America’s military might against drug cartels, Trump promises to “take down the gangs” that “distribute these deadly narcotics on a local level.” That will entail a lot of arrests and a lot of prison sentences, producing the “increased incarceration rates” that Trump decries. Just as the policies that Biden supported as a senator “disproportionately harmed Black communities,” so will the crackdown that Trump has in mind.
Trump says he also will “ask Congress to ensure that drug dealers, kingpins and human traffickers receive the death penalty.” Executing drug dealers is not a new idea for Trump, who has repeatedly recommended that policy over the years. But it is inconsistent with with his criticism of Biden’s legislative record, his condemnation of “very unfair” drug penalties, his commutations for nonviolent drug offenders who had received those penalties, and his support for sentencing reform.
The most famous beneficiary of Trump’s clemency was Alice Johnson, a first-time offender who had
Article from Reason.com
![](https://libertarianguide.com/wp-content/uploads/reason-logo-square.jpeg)
The Reason Magazine website is a go-to destination for libertarians seeking cogent analysis, investigative reporting, and thought-provoking commentary. Championing the principles of individual freedom, limited government, and free markets, the site offers a diverse range of articles, videos, and podcasts that challenge conventional wisdom and advocate for libertarian solutions. Whether you’re interested in politics, culture, or technology, Reason provides a unique lens that prioritizes liberty and rational discourse. It’s an essential resource for those who value critical thinking and nuanced debate in the pursuit of a freer society.