With a backdrop of supporters in red shirts bearing the words "Cops for Trump," President Donald Trump on Thursday night vilified Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey while embracing Lt. Bob Kroll, the leader of the city's police union.
Frey shot back that the president brought exactly the "message of hatred" he had warned about.
Frey and Kroll, head of the Minneapolis Police Officers Federation, had sparred in the days leading up to the president's rally at Target Center after Frey and the Police Department enacted a policy prohibiting officers from appearing in uniform while supporting political candidates.
While Frey said they had considered making the change for a long time, Kroll said it was a political swipe against Trump. So the police union responded by designing the red "Cops for Trump" T-shirts, and Kroll appeared on Fox News to express his support for the president. During his speech, Trump brought up Kroll and a group of others wearing the red shirts to the podium.
"I think your very weak mayor made a mistake when he took them on," Trump told the audience.
Trump positioned the two as enemies, reiterating his respect for law enforcement and implying Frey did not support police.
Last week, Frey had said that the city's Police Department was not partisan and that the new uniform policy was being considered by Police Chief Medaria Arradondo since before Frey was elected mayor. "Bob Kroll knows exceedingly well that this has been a conversation for quite some time, and if he says otherwise, he's not telling the truth and he knows it," he said.
Frey had rolled out the unwelcome mat just minutes after Trump's campaign announced he would hold a rally in downtown Minneapolis.
