There are a couple of things about crime that we know are true, over the last few years: Republicans will nearly always claim crime, especially in “Democratic cities,” is as bad as it’s ever been, and that perception will “feel true,” even if the numbers don’t back it up.
That was illustrated clearly on Monday, when President Donald Trump announced that a new anti-crime initiative in Washington, which will include both National Guard troops deployed to the capital and a federal government takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department.
“When you walk down the street, you’re going to see police or you’re going to see FBI agents,” Trump said at the White House Monday morning. “We’re going to have a lot of agents on the street. You’re going to have a lot of, essentially, military. And we will bring in the military if it’s needed.”
Trump claims crime is up in DC as on-screen graphics fact check him pic.twitter.com/jV9qA7cTzM
— FactPost (@factpostnews) August 11, 2025
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Some social media users noticed something: As Trump claimed “complete and total lawlessness” and vowed to “get rid of the slums,” and get rid of any restrictions on police, graphics showed on the screen making clear that crime has actually been declining, both nationwide and in Washington.
Later in the press conference, FBI director Kash Patel called the murder rate, presumably nationally, as “on track to be the lowest in U.S. history,” which Patel attributed to “Trump’s priorities.”
Kash Patel: “We are now able to report that the murder rate is on track to be the lowest in US history.” (But I thought US cities are crime hellscapes? 🥴) pic.twitter.com/r4QbdG3mTX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 11, 2025
As pointed out by CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, this is a common rhetoric trick, to make outlandish claims about crime, and then claim that those pointing them out don’t actually care about the dangers of crime. It has traditionally been done on social media and by conservative media outlets, as opposed to from the White House briefing room.
A familiar tactic of obscure tweeters, now adopted by the White House itself:
1) Trump makes specific false claim about crime
2) People correct the specific false claim about crime
3) The…White House suggests the correcting people are cool with crime https://t.co/y7VDTFA2H4— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 11, 2025
Dale also noted that Trump’s executive order had referenced “rising violence in the capital,” when such violence is not actually rising.
Photo courtesy of an X screenshot.
