Donald Trump should be worried about the $100 million bounty that might have been placed on his head by Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, but the threat should not dissuade him from running an effective campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik told
Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
"Any time you're threatened by anyone, it's a reason for concern," Kerik told "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth. "This guy is a known killer. … He's involved in one of the largest drug cartels in the world.
"The amount of money he has access to or could put together for some kind of reward or bounty is enormous really, and it's something that they should be concerned with," he added. "With all this chatter, it's something that we should and Donald Trump should be actually concerned with."
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But it shouldn't threaten his campaign, Kerik said.
"It's no different than the threats they have on the president." At last count, "there was a 400 percent increase in the amount of threats on President [Barack] Obama than on others," he said.
Kerik — the author of the book,
"From Jailer to Jailed: My Journey from Correction and Police Commissioner to Inmate #84888-054" — said he personally knows many members of Trump's security detail.
"They are the ultimate professionals. He has an extensive security team around him, highly qualified — and they're going to make sure that he gets though this campaign and does what he has to do, but there's still a need for concern always."
Turning to the Obama administration's planned release of as many as 6,000 nonviolent federal drug prisoners, Kerik told Hayworth that the effort will not be successful unless those who have been released obtain employment and other assistance.
"Here's the problem: Whether it's these guys or anybody released from prison, the system sort of contradicts its own mission statement. You're labeled a convicted felon from that point on. Your demise is almost inevitable.
"Hopefully, they can help get these guys jobs. Hopefully, they can do something with them on the outside — but whether it's these guys or anybody else, once you're labeled a convicted felon, if you're a commercial fisherman and you caught too many fish, you can never get another job.
"This is something that we have to be worried about," Kerik said. "We have to do everything in our power to help these guys get back on their feet — and the government today, as it stands in the criminal justice system, doesn't necessarily do that."
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