President Donald Trump‘s announcement that he will launch a federal takeover in Washington, D.C., to crack down on violent crime also came with a warning indicating that he might do the same in other major U.S. cities, where data shows that crime and gun violence have drastically decreased.
The president deployed 800 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital and placed local police under federal control as part of an executive order to “liberate Washington, D.C., from the cesspool of crime and homelessness that it has become after decades of unilateral Democrat leadership.”
Trump had indicated last week that he was preparing to federalize D.C. after claiming on Truth Social that violent crime was consuming the city and that “local ‘youths’ and gang members were randomly mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens.”
To argue his point, he referred to an incident involving a former aide for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who was reportedly assaulted and carjacked by several teenagers, according to city police. The president said the former staffer was “beaten mercilessly by local thugs,” and advocated for prosecuting children as young as 14 as adults.
Former DOGE head Elon Musk amplified Trump’s claims on X, adding that his ex-staff member saw a woman being assaulted by a dozen teens and was “severely beaten to the point of concussion” after he reportedly ran to her defense.
Trump has repeatedly lobbied to federalize D.C. since the COVID-19 pandemic, when the city experienced a surge in crime.
As part of his plan to mobilize federal troops, the president said he was also going to clear out homeless encampments, which he alleges are harboring violent criminals.
“And we are getting rid of the slums, too. We have slums too, we’re getting rid of them,” Trump said. “I know it’s not politically correct. We’re getting rid of the slums where they live.”
The president signaled he might expand his federal intervention plan to other major cities like Baltimore, Chicago, Oakland, and New York City, which he alleged were also seized by violent crime.
“We’re not gonna lose our cities over this, and this will go further. We’re starting very strongly with D.C. and we’re gonna clean it up real quick,” the president said at a news conference.
However, data proves that Trump’s assertions are way off base, showing that crime and gun violence have dramatically decreased in these cities over the last year.
Baltimore has seen double-digit decreases, with homicides down 22 percent and non-fatal shootings down 19 percent through the first half of 2025 compared to 2024, continuing a multi-year downward trend.
“We all know what the president is doing is really just spitting this right-wing propaganda and using the media and the bully pulpit of the highest office of the land to push things that we know,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CNN.
“I think it’s very notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the president has a Black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime,” Scott said. “In my city, in Baltimore, we have the fewest amount of homicides through this date on record. That’s 50 years, a 50-year low. Maybe we are too far gone, too far gone from the broken right-wing policies of zero-tolerance policing and all the things that did not make our city safer for all those many years. We know that having the military there is not the way to do it.”
“The way to drive down violence in cities has been proven. Mayors across the country have brought together law enforcement, the legal community, the actual community, community violence intervention work to reduce violence across this country and cities to lows that we have not seen in decades. The president could learn a lot from us instead of throwing things at us.”
Chicago’s police department reported that total violent crime in the city is down at least 22 percent thus far in 2025. Fewer than 90 homicides and more than 400 fewer shootings have been reported compared to last year.
New York City also set records for the lowest number of shootings and murders in May 2025, with both indicators down over 30 percent in the first half of the year compared to 2024.
Violent crime in Oakland is also down nearly 29 percent in 2025, with homicides down 21 percent, aggravated assaults down 18 percent, rape down 24 percent, and robbery down 41 percent in the first half of the year.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that the city will follow the law, after laying out statistics that paint a different picture about the level of crime in the city.
Figures released by the federal government also show that Washington, D.C., experienced a 35 percent drop in violent crime in 2024 (reaching a 30-year low), and another 26 percent decrease in 2025, with data showing continued improvement.
“DC is unique. While we pay taxes and uphold the responsibilities of citizenship, we’re not a state. We don’t control the DC National Guard, and we don’t have senators or full autonomy. That’s why you’ve heard me and many other Washingtonians advocate for DC statehood,” Bowser said. “Here’s where we stand after today’s announcement: we will follow the law, work with federal officials, and continue the work we do every single day to keep DC safe, beautiful, and the best city in the world.”
Other than the reduction in violent crime rates, the other similarity these cities share is that they all boast Black Democratic mayors and are located in states with Democratic governors. At his press conference, Trump singled out the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois, calling them both “incompetent.”
This is the second time this summer that Trump has deployed National Guard troops to a major U.S. city. The first time was in Los Angeles, where thousands of troops were sent to mitigate massive, citywide protests against the federal government’s increased immigration enforcement.
