Trump, the former president, gave Tuesday a hint to what he sees for his potential return to Oval Office. In a Washington, D.C. speech, Trump stated that it was time to crack down on drug trafficking and to sentence them to the death penalty. Speaking before the conservative nonprofit the America First Policy Institute, Trump said that drug traffickers should face execution after a “very quick trial.”

“The penalties should be very, very severe,” Trump said during his speech on Tuesday, as quoted by The Hill. “If you look at countries throughout the world, the ones that don’t have a drug problem are ones that institute a very quick trial death penalty sentence for drug dealers.”

Trump stated that the United States will not be facing the illicit drug problems if the authorities are tougher against crime. He also praised the speedy trials that are being held for drug dealers in other countries.

“It’s terrible to say, but you take a look at every country in this world that doesn’t have a problem with drugs, they have a very strong death penalty for people that sell drugs,” he said.

“It sounds horrible, doesn’t it? It sounds terrible, doesn’t it? That’s the ones that don’t have any problem. It doesn’t take 15 years in court. It goes quickly, and you absolutely — you execute a drug dealer, and you’ll save 500 lives,” the former president continued.

At one point in his address, Trump applauded the way Chinese President Xi Jinping handled drug traffickers, recalling a time when Xi told him about “quick trials” for drug criminals in China that he estimated sentenced people in “two hours.”

Trump’s appearance at the America First Policy Institute’s two-day summit marked the first time the former president has spoken publicly in Washington, D.C. since he left office in January 2021. In a speech, Trump spoke out against harsh penalties for drug dealers. He also called for tougher crime policies and for law enforcement officers to be supported.

Ex-President Calls For American Police State

Trump stated that America is now unsafe and highlighted instances of violence against everyday Americans that were extensively covered by the conservative media.

“The dangerously deranged roam our streets with impunity. Because there’s no law, and certainly no order in this country, we are now living in a completely different place. Our country is now a cesspool of crime,” said Trump, only 18 months after leaving office at the end of his first term.

Trump called for a massive increase in the number of police officers throughout the country and said that every street should have a police vehicle. He called for a “no-holds-barred national campaign to dismantle gangs and organized street crime in America.” The former president also called for efforts to defeat violence “and be tough and be nasty and be mean if we have to.”

“We’re living in such a different country for one primary reason: There is no longer respect for the law, and there certainly is no order. Our country is now a cesspool of crime,” Trump said.

“We are a failing nation,” he added, only 18 months after leaving office.

Trump also said that encampments of unsheltered people in cities should be relocated to “large parcels of inexpensive land at the outer reaches of the city.” The former president added that such camps should also have tents staffed with healthcare professionals including medical doctors and psychologists.

To fight back against crime, Trump argued that the president should ignore state authority by deploying the National Guard and “go beyond the governor,” completely ignoring the Republican Party’s often repeated support for states’ rights.

“When governors refuse to protect their people, we need to bring in what is necessary anyway,” Trump said, adding that “the next president needs to send the National Guard to the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago until safety can be restored.”

Trump supports draconian approaches to dealing with drug traffickers, and other criminals. Trump called Rodrigo Duterte (the Phillipines’ then President) to thank him for cracking down on drug dealers, which resulted in the death of approximately 12,000 people by vigilantes and police.

“I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem,” Trump reportedly said, referring to the country’s rash of extrajudicial deaths. “Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.”