Report: Trump to Offer Views on Law and Order, Judges in Speeches

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will present his views on law and order and the judiciary in separate policy speeches in coming weeks, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Trump’s speech on judges is planned in part to respond to unease among some conservatives that the billionaire real estate developer can be trusted with Supreme Court appointments, the Times said.

Senate Republicans have blocked President Barack Obama’s nomination of centrist appellate judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court to replace conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February. With the ideological balance of the court at stake, the Republicans have said they want Obama’s successor to fill the court’s vacancy, hoping their party wins the White House.

Representatives for Trump’s campaign could not be immediately reached to confirm the speeches.

Trump last week said he would consider “wonderful, conservative, good, solid, brilliant judges in the form of “Scalia” to nominate to the Supreme Court, and plans to offer a list of potential nominees by July.

Meanwhile, Trump told Fox News on Wednesday he was considering tapping former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to lead a commission to study his proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering in the United States.

“We’ll figure it out and we will get it going, but we have to be extremely careful,” Trump said.

His campaign acknowledged this month that Trump is planning several policy speeches following his address last month explaining his foreign policy views. Trump offered few details in that April 27 speech in Washington but repeatedly vowed to put America first.

Trump effectively clinched the Republican Party’s nomination last week.

His planned remarks on law and order may offer more details on his views on issues including freedom of speech and police use of force. His large and raucous rallies often have drawn protesters and on occasion have been marred by violence. Trump has called protesters “thugs” and expressed regret that he and police officers could not respond to them more aggressively.

Trump has called for increased law enforcement surveillance of mosques in the United States and has said he would use an executive order to impose the death penalty for anyone who killed a police officer. Nineteen states do not allow the death penalty under state law.

He has endorsed the use of waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning, and “a lot more” on terrorism suspects. Critics call waterboarding torture. Obama, a Democrat, banned its use days after taking office in 2009.