The White House / Flickr
US murder rates have dropped by 20% nationwide, with the White House crediting President Donald Trump’s law-and-order agenda for the sharp decline Tuesday.
“Since President Trump took office, murder rates have plummeted across the entire United States,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Daily Signal. “American families were promised their communities would be safer and President Trump swiftly delivered by vocally being tough on crime, unequivocally backing law enforcement, and standing firm on violent criminals being held to the fullest extent of the law.”
Crime data analyst Jeff Asher first flagged the trend in a May 12 Substack post, noting that if “this decline continues through the Fall, then we should seriously start having a discussion about the probability of a record-breaking year.”
Several major cities have seen even steeper drops. Homicides are down over 30% in Baltimore, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Denver — with Denver recording a staggering 63% decline, according to Asher. Chicago and New York also saw reductions near 25%.
Philadelphia reported only 88 homicides as of May 22, reaching its lowest year-to-date number in over a decade. By the same point in 2021, the city had already recorded 201 murders, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.
Since January, Trump has signed a series of executive orders targeting violent crime, including several directives to expand police powers. Law enforcement officials have credited the administration’s sweeping mandates for driving the sharp nationwide decline.
“Good policy fosters good outcomes,” said FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson. “Under this administration’s leadership, our federal law enforcement teams are receiving the tools and support they need to crush violent crime and keep the American people safe, and that’s exactly what they’re doing. We have much more to do, but let good cops be cops, and the results will follow.”
