Trump Suggests Drug Dealers And Human Traffickers Should Face The Death Penalty

Red Voice Media Published July 9, 2022

News and Commentary

By Gregory Hoyt
July 9, 2022

LAS VEGAS, NV – During a recent Save America rally in Las Vegas, former President Trump delivered some remarks that even he prefaced could be construed as “controversial” – suggesting that drug dealers and human traffickers should face the death penalty.

During the July 8th rally, Trump acknowledged that he could face some mixed reactions prior to alluding that the United States could mirror other countries’ stances on how to deal with certain drug offenders.

“So this is a little controversial. And I will either get a standing ovation – and I don’t care about the ovation, I care about the country – or people are going to walk out of the room for what I’m about to say. But it’s time finally to say it. If you look at countries all throughout the world…The only ones that don’t have a drug problem are those that institute the death penalty for drug dealers. They’re the only ones, they don’t have any problem.”

Obviously, the former president didn’t outright say the United States government should start putting drug dealers to death – but his remarks certainly alluded to said sentiment.

Trump continued on from that point, adding that, “Those who kill police officers as well as those who kill through human trafficking,” should also face the death penalty, which is obviously a notion far less controversial than the aforementioned suggestion regarding drug dealers.

Unsurprisingly, the comments from Trump did render mixed responses from the conservative crowd on Twitter in response to Michigan-based journalist Dave Bondy reporting on the notion of executing drug dealers.

One Twitter user in support of the concept wrote, “Why not. I’ve been up close to the hard stuff… despite what the addiction treatment industry would have you believe, many users, and their dealers, are damaged beyond repair; the people they once were are already dead. Removing dealers may be part of an effective solution.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, another Twitter user claimed that disproportionate justice is essentially an absence of justice, writing, “Never done drugs. But no. Just no. Any added deterrence benefit is no excuse for violating proportional justice. Death penalty for drug dealers is an act of aggression that very clearly outweighs selling something to someone who voluntarily pays for it.”

But other comments explored the sort of moral grey area in Trump’s remarks, considering that his comments during the rally were clearly more off-the-cuff and obviously not some sort of fleshed-out policy prescription.

As one Twitter user speculated, the concept of executing convicted drug dealers for solely dealing is a non-starter. However, if those dealing exploits were to lead to someone dying, then it might be “a different story.”

“I hope this isn’t true. If someone causes a death, that’s a different story, but the death penalty for dealing? No.”