Donald Trump on Thursday morning said that when he proposed using “stop and frisk” policing techniques to address crime during a town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, he was referring specifically to Chicago.
“I was really referring to Chicago with stop and frisk. They asked me about Chicago,” Trump said Thursday morning on “Fox and Friends.”
Trump’s town hall was scheduled to air Wednesday night, but was postponed to Thursday night. According to a partial transcript from NBC News published on Wednesday, Trump proposed using “stop and frisk” to combat crime.
“I would do stop and frisk,” he said, according to NBC News. “I think you have to. We did it in New York, it worked incredibly well, and you have to be proactive, and you know, you really help people change sort of change their mind automatically. You understand, you have to have, in my opinion. I see what’s going on here. I see what’s going on in Chicago, I think stop and frisk.”
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told TPM on Wednesday that Trump “did not propose nationalizing stop and frisk.”
During the town hall and on Thursday morning, Trump claimed that “stop and frisk” techniques were very effective.
“New York was not a Chicago situation, but it was really in trouble,” Trump said Thursday on “Fox and Friends.” “Stop and frisk worked.”
“I suggested stop and frisk, and some people think it’s a great idea, and some people probably don’t like it, but when you have 3,000 people shot and so many people dying, it’s worse than some of the places we’re hearing about like Afghanistan,” he continued. “I think Chicago needs stop and frisk.”
Stop and frisk has been criticized for disproportionately targeting minorities, prompting legal challenges, and New York City no longer uses stop and frisk.
