NEW: President Trump announces actions to restore safety and peace in U.S. cities

On June 29, 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro was shot and killed in his bed after a gunman opened fire on an apartment complex in Kansas City, Missouri.

This afternoon, President Trump announced the expansion of Operation Legend, an interagency law enforcement effort led by the Department of Justice and named after LeGend. Its purpose is to quell the unacceptable levels of recent violence in U.S. cities.

“My first duty as President is to protect the American people, and today I am taking action to fulfill that sacred obligation,” President Trump said.

President Trump: Anti-police policy and rhetoric has consequences

Attorney General Bill Barr announced the creation of Operation Legend fewer than 10 days after LeGend’s heartbreaking death. The Justice Department is now surging over 200 federal law enforcement officers into Kansas City to help curb the kind of senseless violence that took the young boy’s life.

The President announced today that the operation will expand into Chicago and Albuquerque. Over the next 3 weeks, the Justice Department plans to further expand the initiative into Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee.

In Chicago, for example, more than 300 federal law enforcement personnel will work with state and local police to help apprehend violent criminals. Just yesterday, another mass shooting in Chicago injured 15 people outside of a funeral service.

More than $61 million will be provided by the Justice Department to hire hundreds of new police officers, and about 200 federal agents and deputy marshals will be permanently reassigned to Operation Legend cities.

“We will never defund the police—we will hire more great police,” President Trump said. “We want to make law enforcement stronger, not weaker. What cities are doing is absolute insanity.”

Watch: For decades, politicians have failed law-abiding citizens

President Trump: ‘We’re very close to the vaccine’

President Trump briefed Americans last night on our continued nationwide fight against the Coronavirus. As a result of the Administration’s quick, aggressive response to recent hotspots, there are currently no unfilled equipment requests from governors.

Cases requiring hospitalizations continue to drop, and fatalities have fallen by 75 percent since mid-April. The Administration is working with numerous partners to accelerate the development of a vaccine, and two possibilities will reach their final stage of clinical trials this month. “This was achieved in record time,” President Trump said.

President Trump: Case fatality rates continue to decline

“Ultimately our goal is not merely to manage the pandemic, but to end it. We want to get rid of it as soon as we can,” the President said. “That is why getting a vaccine remains a top priority.”

He also urged Americans to continue to socially distance—and to wear masks whenever social distancing isn’t possible. “We are imploring young Americans to avoid packed bars and other crowded indoor gatherings. Be safe and be smart,” he said.

Watch: “When you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask”