(The Hill) – President Trump on Monday implied that minor domestic disputes should not be included in Washington, D.C.’s crime metrics as he continues efforts to reduce crime in the nation’s capital.
“Can you imagine our capital being the most violent city? But it was — it was really bad, into a totally safe zone. It’s called a safe zone city. There’s no crime. They said, ‘Crime’s down 87 percent,’ I said, ‘No, no, no, it’s more than 87 percent, virtually nothing,’” Trump stated during an event at the Museum of the Bible in D.C.
“And much lesser things, things that take place in the home, they call crime,” he continued. “You know, they’ll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say, ‘This was a crime, see?’ So, now I can’t claim 100 percent.”
His comments were part of a speech he delivered at the Religious Liberty Commission’s meeting on Monday.
Trump recently asserted that the District had become a “crime free zone” and encouraged more Democrat-led cities to work with his administration to reduce crime in their regions.
Since Aug. 7, when Trump directed a federal law enforcement surge in the nation’s capital, overall crime decreased by 14 percent and violent crime decreased by 39 percent, compared to the same 25-day period in 2024, based on Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) data released Sept. 1.
Within the “violent crime” category, homicides decreased by 58 percent, robberies decreased by 57 percent, and sex abuse crimes decreased by 40 percent, while assaults with a deadly weapon increased by 8 percent. Carjackings, a type of robbery, decreased by 82 percent.
MPD arrests have also increased by 25 percent, firearm recoveries increased by 20 percent and calls for service increased by 14 percent.
The city has also seen a noticeable year-over-year decline in property crime: Burglaries declined by 49 percent, motor vehicle thefts declined by 35 percent, thefts from auto declined by 8 percent and thefts increased by 1 percent.
The president in last week’s post touted the “very popular” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) 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 press 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 (ICE) 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.
