Ed Rendell Downplays Police Union's Endorsement Of Donald Trump
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Former Governor of Pennsylvania Ed Rendell rejected claims that Donald Trump's endorsement by the FOP will hurt Hillary Clinton in the city of Philadelphia or, more broadly, in Pennsylvania.
Rendell, during an interview with Rich Zeoli on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, downplayed the impact of the decision from the union that represents Philadelphia's police officers.
"Let's not make too much of this. I never got the endorsement of the police in either of my two elections for Mayor or my two elections for Governor and I got re-elected by 81 percent when I was Mayor. I carried every precinct in the city, including precincts in the Northeast that are populated by, almost exclusively, police and fireman's families. When I ran for Governor, I got 89 percent of the vote in the city. Endorsements are endorsements. Policemen are smart. Almost all of them are college educated. They're going to make up their own minds."
He thinks they are making a mistake when it comes to choosing the candidate who will best represent them on matters related crime and public safety.
"What's the biggest issue for Philadelphia police? That they're getting shot left and right. We have to do something about the proliferation of guns in this city and in this country. Donald Trump doesn't want to do a thing. Hillary Clinton wants to take action that would be very helpful to protecting police. That, to me, should be the paramount issue."
However, Rendell thinks it was a mistake for the Clinton campaign to refuse to meet with representatives of the FOP or to return their questionnaire.
"You should answer questions from anybody. I think in some sense, that's your responsibility. I don't know what the response of the campaign was or how they did it. I know in terms of the Secretary actually going for an interview, that was hard because she hasn't been in Philadelphia that much."