Trump’s False Claims on DC Crime Under Federal Takeover
President Donald Trump has been making bold statements about crime in Washington, D.C., but many of them have turned out to be misleading or outright false. During his defense of the federal takeover of the city’s police force and his deployment of the National Guard, Trump painted a picture of a capital that has suddenly become crime-free under his watch. But when the details are checked, the reality looks very different.
Trump has repeatedly highlighted what he calls a major accomplishment: an ongoing stretch of days without a reported murder in Washington. As of this past Monday, he pointed to 11 consecutive days without a homicide and claimed this was something that hadn’t happened in “many years.” The problem is, that simply isn’t true. In fact, Washington has already experienced several murder-free stretches earlier this year, including one that lasted 16 days from late February into March. So while it is certainly good news that no murders were reported during this period, it is far from unprecedented.
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The former president also took things further by insisting that there was “no crime” at all in Washington during his takeover. That claim is flatly false. Official police data shows that hundreds of crimes have been reported since federal control began. From August 12 through August 24, more than 700 total crimes took place, including violent and property offenses. Crime numbers have declined somewhat during the takeover, which is encouraging, but the idea that Washington has become crime-free is simply inaccurate.
Trump has also insisted that Washington was at its “all-time worst” for crime when he stepped in. Again, history tells a different story. While there was a spike in violence in 2023, including 274 homicides, those figures were still well below the staggering numbers of the early 1990s, when murders exceeded 470 in a single year. By the end of President Biden’s term, crime had already begun to decline again. So the suggestion that Trump inherited the worst moment in the city’s crime history does not hold up.
Finally, Trump has argued that nearly all Washington residents support his actions—going so far as to claim 95% approval. But a recent Washington Post poll shows the opposite: nearly 80% of local residents opposed the federal takeover, with only 17% in favor. Washington, a city that votes overwhelmingly Democratic, has shown little appetite for Trump’s intervention, even if some residents welcome reduced violence.
So while the president has used strong language to credit himself with a crime-free capital, the facts tell a more complicated story. Crime has dropped somewhat, yes. There have been murder-free stretches, yes. But these are not new, and they do not erase the hundreds of crimes still occurring. The bigger picture is that Washington has seen worse days before, long before Trump’s involvement, and most of its residents remain firmly opposed to his approach. This makes his claims less about reality and more about political spin.
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