Trump Claims ‘Lesser Things’ Like Domestic Incidents Are Skewing DC Crime Statistics

President Trump, during the Religious Liberty Commission’s meeting on Monday, claimed that Washington, DC’s reported crime drop of 87% is understated, as “lesser things” like domestic incidents are counted in the statistics.

Key Quote: Trump said, “There's no crime. They said, ‘Crime's down 87%.’ I said, ‘No, no, no, it's more than 87%.’ Virtually nothing… and much lesser things. Things that take place in the home, they call crime. 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%.”

For Context: Crime in DC has fallen since President Trump deployed the National Guard and federalized local law enforcement on August 11. Data from the Metropolitan Police Department has shown that property crimes have fallen significantly more than violent crimes.

How The Media Covered It: The story was widely covered by outlets on the left. AllSides did not find coverage from the right. Most outlets that covered the story characterized Trump’s description of “a little fight with the wife” as “domestic violence” and noted his description of it as a “lesser” crime in headlines. NBC News (Lean Left bias) ran the headline, “Trump appears to dismiss domestic violence as a ‘lesser’ crime.” The Washington Post (Lean Left) wrote the headline, “Trump downplays domestic disturbances as he touts D.C. crime reduction.”

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