(The Hill) On Monday, President Donald Trump implied that minor domestic disputes shouldn’t be considered when calculating crime rates in Washington, D.C., as he intensifies efforts to reduce crime in the nation’s capital.

“Can you imagine our capital being labeled as one of the most violent cities? It was quite severe before but now it’s become a totally secure area. It’s called a safe zone city with no crime. Officials reported a crime drop of 87%, and I said, ‘No, no, no, it’s more than 87%. It’s almost at zero,'” Trump stated during a gathering at the Museum of the Bible in D.C.

He continued, “And minor incidents, those that occur at home, are categorized as crimes. They’re always trying to inflate the numbers. If someone has a small argument with their spouse, they classify it as a crime, saying, ‘Look, it’s a crime.’ So, that’s why I can’t claim it’s 100% crime-free.”

His comments were part of a speech he delivered at the Religious Liberty Commission’s meeting on Monday.

Trump had recently declared the district to be a “crime-free zone” and encouraged Democrat-led cities to work with his administration to bring down crime rates in their jurisdictions.

Following Trump’s directive on August 7 to deploy federal law enforcement in Washington, D.C., the overall crime rate decreased by 14%, and violent crime saw a 39% reduction compared to the same timeframe in 2024, according to statistics released by the Metropolitan Police Department on September 1.

Within the categorization of “violent crime,” the data showed a 58% decrease in homicides, a 57% drop in robberies, and a 40% reduction in sex-related crimes, although assaults with a deadly weapon saw an 8% increase. Conversely, carjackings, which fall under robberies, saw an 82% decline.

MPD arrests have also increased by 25%, firearm recoveries increased by 20% and calls for service increased by 14%.

The city has also seen a noticeable year-over-year decline in property crime: Burglaries declined by 49%, motor vehicle thefts declined by 35%, thefts from auto declined by 8% and thefts increased by 1%.

The president in last week’s post touted the “very popular” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, in a post on Truth Social and pressed other Democrats to follow her lead in accepting federal support.

“Wow! Mayor Muriel Bowser of D.C. has become very popular because she worked with me and my great people in bringing CRIME down to virtually NOTHING in D.C.,” Trump said in the post. 

“Her statements and actions were positive, instead of others like Pritzker, Wes Moore, Newscum, and the 5% approval rated Mayor of Chicago, who spend all of their time trying to justify violent Crime, instead of working with us to completely ELIMINATE it, which we have done in Washington, D.C., NOW A CRIME FREE ZONE,” he added.

Bowser, at a news conference this month, stressed the need for more police officers in the city, saying the federal surge has given MPD officers the added support they have long needed. But she also indicated the presence of masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and out-of-town National Guard troops around the city was “not working.”

Democrats and some residents have protested the president’s D.C. crime crackdown, which came a few months after a similar use of federal force in Los Angeles.

Trump and other officials in his administration have also teased the possibility of federal law enforcement intervention in Chicago and other Democratic-run cities.

During his Monday remarks, Trump said he didn’t know why “why Chicago isn’t calling us saying, please give us help.” His comments come as DHS has launched its latest immigration crackdown, targeting Chicago.