For Trump, appearances are as important as statistics as president vows crackdown on crimepublished at 15:06 British Summer Time
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Donald Trump is starting the week with a new push to address what he says is rampant violent crime and homelessness in Washington DC.
Federal crime statistics don’t provide much support for his claims, as they indicate that crime rates in the nation’s capital are at 30-year lows, down significantly from a post-pandemic spike in 2023. Washington’s numbers mirror a nationwide trend of declining crime over the past two years.
For Trump, however, appearances can be as important as statistics. Homeless encampments are visible in parts of Washington, as the president has documented with photographs shared on his social media site. A recent late-night attack on a prominent Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) staffer also appears to have caught Trump’s attention.
Democrats in America’s major cities also have grappled with how to address homelessness, and while crime is dropping in Washington, the city is dealing with high-profile instances of youth law-breaking, including by imposing curfews in popular entertainment districts.
“Law and order” issues have traditionally been a popular focus for conservatives – and Trump himself has campaigned on it for more than a decade. With a sagging poll numbers, a recent spate of discouraging economic news and criticism over his handling of questions surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s underage prostitution case, the president may be searching for a way to move to more comfortable political ground.
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