A.G. Gancarski
Donald Trump‘s visit to St. Augustine on Tuesday earned him one round of blowback, via claims that he’d “ghosted” on an interview with Action News Jax.
The second round came a bit later, when his tweeted-out claim he was “endorsed” by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Public Information Office came under scrutiny.
The Sheriff’s Office denied such an endorsement went down.
“The Sheriff’s Office has NOT made any official endorsement,” the SJSO told Action News Jax.
However, there is a logical explanation: St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar, a regular endorser of candidates, actually was listed as endorsing Trump in September.
The September endorsers included Shoar and a heavy concentration of sheriffs from Northeast Florida: Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams, Nassau County’s Bill Leeper, Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler, and Clay Sheriff-Elect Darryl Daniels.
Beyond those top lawmen, Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey, Liberty’s Nick Finch, Bradford’s Gordon Smith, Lee County’s Mike Scott, Seminole County’s Don Eslinger, Volusia’s Ben Johnson, and Indian River County’s Deryl Loar all boarded the Trump Train.
They framed the endorsement in moral absolutism: Trump “stands for law and order … understands the first, and most important duty of our government is to protect our citizens … honors the daily sacrifices of those who heroically protect our citizens and the needs of every community.”
At the time, the sheriffs went on to blame Hillary Clinton for ISIS.
“We were reminded last night that we cannot trust Hillary to defend Florida. Her track record of failed leadership helped to produce one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups, ISIS. They threaten us here at home, in our cities, and in our own backyards,” the sheriffs contended.
“We believe Donald Trump is prepared to protect us against threats from terrorists, restore peace to our streets, defend our constitutional freedoms, and stand with our everyday heroes,” the lawmen declared.
The Sheriff’s Office could not endorse a candidate; however, Shoar endorsed Trump, and the campaign represented it as if it believed it was in an official capacity.
