Flock

Trump Backs Flock Cameras, Continuing His Long-Time Support for Unchecked Police Power

Trump says he supports the cameras simply because law enforcement does, no matter that they can be misused or abused.

Joe Lancaster | 9.16.2026 11:55 AM

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(Illustration: Matt Kaminsky/ZUMAPRESS/David Pashaee/Middle East Images/StringersHub/Sipa USA/Newscom)

This week, President Donald Trump expressed support for automated license plate readers (ALPRs), which record and store images of license plates in a searchable police database.

Flock Safety, by far the country's largest ALPR supplier, has come under fire for the privacy violations and police abuses its products have enabled. But Trump's support for such a controversial product is perfectly consistent with his stated beliefs on policing.

During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on Sunday, a reporter asked Trump for his thoughts on Flock cameras.

"I sort of like them," Trump said, "because of law enforcement. Some people don't. They think it's an infringement. But I like them."

Trump didn't elaborate any further, though as The Washington Post noted, he "has previously sidestepped questions about his stance." When asked about Flock cameras last month in the Oval Office, Trump said, "You have pros and cons, right? It's being studied right now. We'll have an answer as to our views on it over the next couple of weeks."

Trump's answer this week seemed more like a gut reaction—drawing a line directly to the fact that law enforcement likes them—than having been informed by the results of a study.........

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