WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wants the death penalty for anyone who kills a firefighter.
Trump made the remark at a White House Rose Garden lunch honoring firefighter organizations, according to Reuters. He said he had directed the Justice Department to seek the death penalty in such cases.
“anybody that murders a firefighter going up a ladder”
The call extends a position Trump had already taken for people convicted of killing a police officer. This time he applied it to firefighters as well.
USA TODAY reported that Trump told the gathering of firefighters and law enforcement officers that he had directed Attorney General Todd Blanche to pursue the death penalty for people convicted of killing anyone in their ranks. Trump told Blanche the punishment would deter more violence, the report said.
Steve Hirsch, chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council, presented Trump with a helmet during the event. USA TODAY reported that the council represents 750,000 firefighters.
Trump said he could have used the helmet during the 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was shot in the ear, according to the USA TODAY report.
