One of Donald Trump's widely known campaign messages — for years — has been that crime in the United States is out of control, and that he can do something to fix it.
Just over one month since the president-elect defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, "Crime, especially homicide, is down dramatically from the spike that occurred during the worst of the pandemic in 2020," journalist and author Paul Waldman notes in a Monday op-ed published by MSNBC.
It's the "one positive development that he is unlikely to claim responsibility for," Waldman writes. "The reasons Trump won’t tout declining crime have to do with the way he uses fear and sets Americans from different kinds of places against one another."
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Waldman notes:
Back here in reality, much of the recent news about crime has been highly encouraging. Boston has recorded only 24 homicides in all of 2024, the fewest since 1957. In San Francisco, which conservatives often describe as emblematic of urban decay, there have been only 34 homicides, the fewest since 1960. Detroit had fewer homicides in 2023 than in any year other since 1966, and this year’s total will be even lower. More broadly, the FBI’s most recent quarterly crime report found that violent crime decreased by 10% from the year before, with violent crime in Washington, D.C., hitting a 30-year low.
Still, there's one reason the incoming president doesn't want Americans to know that, the editor contends.
It's "good news for all of us" Waldman writes — "except for Trump, who would prefer Americans live in a state of constant anxiety and fear."
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Waldman's full op-ed is available here.