Huffington Post triggered by Trump's plan to execute child sex traffickers

A recent article by The Huffington Post expressed disagreement with former President Donald Trump’s advocacy for the death penalty for violent criminals, including drug dealers and human traffickers. 

Titled “There's A GOP Plan For An Execution Spree If Trump Wins The White House,” the article highlighted Trump's past actions during his administration, characterizing them as an "unprecedented execution spree" that resulted in the death of 13 individuals on federal death row. Trump also ended a 17-year federal execution moratorium, something that Biden reinstated upon taking office.  

The article claimed Trump could once again implement an "execution spree," referencing his remarks about executing drug dealers, human traffickers, and officials leaking information to the press. 

In a 2022 speech, Trump stated that while it "sounds horrible" to use the death penalty on drug traffickers, countries that don't have a "drug problem" are “those that institute a very quick trial, death penalty sentence” for dealers. 

“You execute a drug dealer, and you’ll save 500 lives, because they kill on average 500 people,” Trump claimed. 

Project 2025, a conservative group that outlines policy objectives for the federal government, was mentioned in the article for advocating for the execution of remaining federal death row prisoners and urging the Supreme Court to broaden the scope of crimes punishable by death. 

Gene Hamilton, author of the transition playbook's Department of Justice chapter and former Trump DOJ official, emphasized the importance of seeking "finality" for death row prisoners and pursuing the death penalty for heinous crimes, particularly those involving violence and sexual abuse of children. 

“It should also pursue the death penalty for applicable crimes—particularly heinous crimes involving violence and sexual abuse of children—until Congress says otherwise through legislation,” he wrote.  

Additionally, the article noted recent conservative-led states' efforts to expand death sentences, such as Florida's implementation of the death penalty for individuals convicted of child rape.  

President Biden has been the first president to publicly oppose the death penalty, despite his previous involvement in the 1994 crime bill, which aimed to expand the federal death penalty. While Biden has advocated for ending the death penalty on the federal level, little work has been done regarding the issue during his time in office.