'Very interesting question': MAGA lawmaker has no answer for Trump's unpaid police bills

CHICAGO — While eviscerating Vice President Kamala Harris' law enforcement record outside of the Democratic National Convention, a top MAGA lawmaker heaped praise on former President Donald Trump for his support of police officers.

But Raw Story, which attended the briefing Tuesday at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, had questions about this for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) given the Trump campaign's long history of not paying police bills.

Donalds, acknowledging Raw Story, told male reporters assembled, "fellas, all put your hands down," and called on Raw Story's female reporter after he'd first taken "three men questions."

Raw Story asked Donalds: "President Trump has a history of not always paying for bills related to security costs provided at campaign events. So, I'm curious, since you emphasized President Trump's support of men and women in blue, if you think it's important for presidential campaigns to pay for protection for local police departments who provide security at those events?"

Donalds deflected Raw Story's question about Trump's support of the police despite racking up unpaid security bills from local police and municipalities.

Donald's called Raw Story's inquiry "a very interesting question," and that he had "no idea what you're talking about, but that's OK."

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The Trump campaign has repeatedly stiffed local municipal governments, and Trump has repeatedly rebuffed them when they asked him pay unexpected public safety bills associated with his campaign rallies — facts that have been widely reported by various media since Donald Trump's first presidential campaign in 2016.

The Trump campaign incurred more than $840,000 in unpaid security bills during the 2016 election, nearly $2 million by December 2020, and cost local municipalities more than $100,000 across eight events in 2023.

"I know that the President does support law enforcement 100 percent and what you're finding is law enforcement officers all around the country support him. Now with respect to the campaign, the campaign pays its bills," Donalds said.

Donalds said he would "leave it at that" and immediately asked for another question.

Donalds said Trump has the support of police associations — the Milwaukee Police Association among the most recent, despite activist pushback — and that Harris "praised" the "defund the police movement" in 2020.

"They know he takes public safety seriously. They know that he supports the men and women in blue who serve our communities every single day," Donalds said.

A Manhattan jury earlier this year convicted Trump on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in order to cover up an alleged affair with former porn actress Stormy Daniels immediately prior to the 2016 presidential election. Trump's criminal and civil legal history has emerged this week as a major theme of the Democratic National Convention.

Long list of unpaid bills

Trump's campaign, echoing statements made in past years, denied that it is responsible for covering the cost of local law enforcement efforts at Trump rallies.

“It is the U.S. Secret Service, not the campaign, which coordinates with local law enforcement," the Trump campaign said in a statement to Raw Story. "The campaign itself does not contract with local governments for police involvement. All billing inquiries should go to the Secret Service.”

The Secret Service, in turn, has maintained that it does not receive funding from Congress to defray the cost of local law enforcement support it requests for presidential campaign rallies it protects.

Earlier this year, Congress infused the Secret Service with $320 million that it quietly repurposed from the obsolete Presidential Election Campaign Fund, but key members of Congress and the Secret Service have refused to detail how that money will be used — and whether any of it will help local governments.

The Secret Service came under heavily criticism following an attempt on Trump's life during an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Trump was millimeters away from being severely wounded or killed when a gunman's bullet grazed his ear. One rally attendee died from a bullet wound.

Donalds' congressional office did not immediately respond to Raw Story's follow-up questions citing reporting on Trump's unpaid police bills that have left taxpayers to pay for security costs, including in areas where police forces are already under-resourced and short-staffed.

Harris' campaign did not immediately respond to Raw Story's questions about the press conference.

Nothing is stopping the Trump campaign from voluntarily honoring police bills from at least 30 cities that have sent them, including Minneapolis; Albuquerque, N.M.; Spokane, Wash.; El Paso, Texas; Wildwood, N.J.; and Green Bay, Wis.

Over the years, presidential campaign committees have taken wildly different approaches to municipal governments' police bills for public safety costs associated with campaign rallies.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), for example, religiously paid such bills during his 2016 campaign. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) initially didn't pay police bills associated with his 2016 presidential campaign, but changed his mind and paid all of them prior to running again in 2020. The presidential campaigns of Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton paid some bills, but not others.

Republican counter-programming

The Democratic National Convention enters its second day today, with Obama scheduled to headline a slate of evening speeches.

Donalds said he was in Chicago to not only voice his support of Trump but to lay out the "stark contrast" between the tickets of Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), "who take public safety seriously," and Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, "who like to play politics with the safety of the American people."

During the press conference, the campaign displayed poster boards with selected statistics about elevated murder rates in major cities such as Chicago, New York City, Kansas City and Washington, D.C., claiming that crime rates are "massively up" in cities under Democratic leadership. People are "safer" and "happier" in areas where "Republicans led by Donald Trump are in control," argued Donalds, a rising star in conservative circles who Trump for a time considered as a presidential running mate.

One selected statistic came from a January article by Chicago public broadcasting station, WTTW, that showed a 23 percent increase in Chicago homicides between 2019 and 2023, citing a chart based off Chicago Police Department data. However, the article focused on the 13 percent decrease in homicides and shootings in 2023 and a return to pre-pandemic violence rates.

"Crime is only down from the horrifically high levels under the Joe Biden Kamala Harris administration," Donalds said.

The article showed a spike in crime in 2020 when Trump was still president, marking 778 homicides in Chicago. Homicides hit a high in 2021 with 804 homicides in Chicago when President Joe Biden took office and declined below 2020 rates after that.

Donalds recently pushed back on ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, who asked him about Trump's comments on Harris' racial identity, which included accusing her of becoming Black. Harris has always identified as both an Indian-American and Black.