President Donald Trump was so desperate to claim he’s conquered crime in Washington, D.C., Monday, he dismissed claims of domestic violence.
Speaking to the White House Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible, Trump tried to tout some impressive crime reduction numbers in Washington, where he has federalized police and unleashed thousands of National Guard troops.
To support his assertion that crime was down “more than 87 percent,” Trump callously claimed that people were attempting to undermine his success by crying wolf about “much lesser things, things that take place in the home.”
“You know, they’ll do anything in the home to claim something. If a man has a little fight with the wife they’ll say this was a crime, see? So now I can’t claim 100 percent,” Trump said.
Trump’s effort to downplay domestic violence is not only desperate but despicable. Every minute, 24 Americans experience rape, stalking, or physical violence by their partner, and domestic violence results in more than 1,500 deaths every year. Eighty-five percent of victims of intimate partner violence are women, meaning a woman is beaten every nine seconds.
Despite all of Trump’s talk about cracking down on crime, it seems his commitment only goes so far.
Over the past few weeks, the president has been eager to claim victory over violent crime in the capital. Since Trump deployed the National Guard in Washington D.C., violent crime has decreased by just 22 percent. Property crime has decreased considerably though, with carjackings down 83 percent, car thefts down 21 percent, and robberies down 46 percent.
The Trump administration has also been sending mixed messages on its use of National Guard troops. While Trump would like to imagine his crackdown is so complete that there are no more criminals to arrest, Attorney General Pam Bondi keeps touting a running tally of arrests.
At the same time, National Guard troops with no actual work have been tasked with raking up leaves and laying out mulch.
Last week, D.C. sued the Trump administration, alleging that the use of federal troops was “illegal federal overreach.” That lawsuit follows a California judge ruling that Trump’s deployment of troops in Los Angeles in June had violated the Posse Comitatus Act.
The post In Chilling Comment, Trump Reveals His Thoughts on Domestic Violence appeared first on New Republic.
