Trump’s Crackdown on DC Crime Seen to Aid Black Americans
President Donald Trump’s initiative to federalize the DC police and tackle crime in Washington has reportedly benefitted Black Americans, who are often the most affected by violent crime, according to new data.
In a recent interview, John Lott, founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center, highlighted a remarkable 13-day period without any murders in the city. “You go for 13 days without murders happening. These murders would have always been very black,” he stated. “And those lives, you had black people who didn’t die, otherwise they would have died.” This information was released in August to support the police’s transition to federal oversight, which included deploying National Guard members and federal law enforcement to assist local efforts.
From August 13 to August 26, records indicated zero murders in DC, which Lott described as statistically unlikely, happening only 0.37% of the time under normal circumstances. These statistics come amid an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice into allegations of manipulated crime data by local police.
A significant revelation from the data indicates that Black victims made up 96% of all murder victims in the district between 2019 and 2021. Lott challenged those who label Trump’s policies as racist by asking, “Who are the victims of these crimes?”
He also pointed to dissenting views from some Democratic politicians. For instance, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson claimed that imprisonment is unjust and echoed sentiments against criminalization as a solution to violence.
Trump responded, “We can’t jail our way out of violence. We’ve already tried that…” He criticized the Democratic view that looks at crime from a perspective of moral opposition rather than addressing its root causes.
The recent zero-murder streak contrasts starkly with previous data, as DC had seen 16 days of murder earlier this year. However, Lott noted that typically, murder rates rise during the summer, and DC does not release monthly historical data breakdowns, making it hard to interpret trends accurately.
President Trump has made noise about sending the National Guard to Chicago as well, but local leaders, including Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, have dismissed the necessity. Pritzker described the use of federal troops in US cities as a “dangerous power grab” aimed at political gain rather than true crime resolution.
Interestingly, while Chicago’s murder rate has seen spikes, it still trails behind higher rates in cities like Memphis, which recorded 40.6 murders per 100,000 people. Lott suggested that if saving lives is the goal, the Trump administration should focus on cities like Memphis that experience higher murder counts.
As for DC, it has been under heightened federal scrutiny since August 11, when Trump invoked a rule to federalize local law enforcement in a bid to combat rising crime rates.
Up until early September, over 1,900 arrests were made in connection with this crackdown. Lott mentioned that this effort could indirectly benefit many DC residents, especially the poor, who’ve suffered from the closures of local businesses under crime stresses. He noted the detrimental effects of rising store prices and loss of jobs, making it harder for lower-income individuals to afford basic goods.
“Everyone who goes to CVS or Walgreens knows everything behind the plexiglass there,” Lott remarked, emphasizing the hidden costs of operating businesses in crime-riddled neighborhoods.
