Trump touts FBI data showing record drop in violent crime

President Donald Trump announced Aug. 14 that the FBI had released its latest Uniform Crime Report, showing that in 2025 the U.S. recorded its largest year-to-year decline in violent crime on record.

Speaking at the Nassau County Policy Academy on Long Island in New York, Trump said the country recorded over 3,100 fewer murders, 10,000 fewer rapes, and more than 1.1 million fewer violent crimes in 2025 than in 2024.

“Every single number is the lowest number in recorded history,” Trump said. 

According to a fact sheet posted by the White House’s Rapid Response X account, violent crime fell 9.3% from 2024, including an 18.1% decline in murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, a 7.6% decline in rape, an 18.5% decline in robbery, and a 7.2% decline in aggravated assault.

Property crime fell 12.4%, with burglary down 15.8%, larceny-theft down 9.8%, and motor vehicle theft down 22.7%, according to the figures. 

The fact sheet also showed preliminary figures for the first half of 2026. Compared with the same period in 2025, overall crime fell 10.6%, while murder dropped 23%, rape 18.6%, robbery 19.6%, and aggravated assault 7.2%.

Trump attributed the decline to his administration’s support for law enforcement.

“Together we’re showing what is possible when you finally have a president in the White House who supports our police, who lets you do your jobs, and who always backs the blue,” he said.

Trump said that federal authorities have made 1.2 million arrests nationwide since he took office and that federal criminal prosecutions have increased by more than 50%. He also said the FBI has nearly doubled its arrests for violent crimes and has captured nine of the 10 fugitives on its “Most Wanted” list as of this week.

The President also cited an executive order directing the attorney general to seek the death penalty in cases involving people convicted of killing law enforcement officers. He said law enforcement officers’ line-of-duty deaths fell to an 80-year low in 2025.

Trump pledged to seek harsher penalties for repeat offenders, oppose efforts to abolish police departments, end cashless-bail policies, and take action against sanctuary jurisdictions.

“We will never abolish the police,” he said. “Instead, we will abolish the sanctuary cities. We will abolish them. We will destroy them. We will take them out.”

Trump criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, arguing that the state’s cashless-bail, parole, and sanctuary policies have created a “nightmare for crime.” He then invited Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican challenging Hochul in November, to join him onstage.

He referenced other Democratic and progressive platforms and called communism the “greatest threat to our country in history, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or even 9/11.”

Briefly turning to the ongoing war with Iran, Trump told the audience that “pretty soon” he’ll be “declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States” after “we finish beating Iran.”

He asked Americans to accept higher gasoline prices while the war continues, arguing that the military campaign is necessary.

“For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a — really, it’s the number one state sponsor of terror in the world — we don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

“I'll never apologize,” Trump added. “I did the right thing.”

Trump also used the address to urge Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, saying voters should be required to present identification and documentary proof of U.S. citizenship at the polls. 

“We have to do it,” he said.

In his closing remarks, Trump pledged to keep men out of women’s sports, prohibit “transgender” surgeries on children, and continue opposing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which he said his administration has “essentially killed.”

“We will make America powerful again – we’re already done that,” he concluded. “We will make America wealthy again – we’ve already done that. We will make America healthy again – we’re trying to do that. We will make America strong again – we’ve done that. We will make America proud again – we’ve done that. We will make America safe again – we’ve largely done that. And above all, we will make America great again.”