For example, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in 2025 reportedly decreased by approximately 18% compared to 2024.

“President Trump promised to make America safe again and the data proves he has done just that,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told the Washington Examiner. “Just [on Tuesday], another survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Association found significant drops in violent crime including a more than 17% decrease in murders [during the first half of the year compared to in 2025]. Unlike Defund-the-Police Democrats, President Trump will always stand with our law enforcement officers and deliver safer American neighborhoods.”

The Major Cities Chiefs Association found the homicide rate declined in several major cities, including by 65% in Newark, New Jersey, and 44% in Washington, D.C.

A Department of Justice spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that “Violent crime is falling because this administration is prosecuting it.”

“President Trump and Attorney General Blanche have empowered U.S. Attorneys to pursue violent offenders and given them the full resources of the Department to do it,” the DOJ spokesperson said. “When you hold criminals accountable, crime goes down — these numbers prove it.”

Trump’s press conference also coincides with the White House underscoring the accomplishments of the president’s D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force this week.

The task force, which marked its first year on Tuesday, was started after Trump declared a national emergency following last summer’s violent carjacking of Edward Coristine, a former Department of Government Efficiency aide better known as “Big Balls,” prompting the president to federalize and deploy the National Guard in the district.

The task force’s achievements include more than 16,000 arrests, including the arrests of 35 homicide suspects and more than 100 alleged gang members, in addition to over 3,200 narcotics-related arrests, almost 2,000 illegal guns seized, and 25 missing children located and returned home, according to the White House.

Council on Criminal Justice senior fellow Thaddeus Johnson described approaching Trump’s task force with an open mind and said the decrease in violent crime is part of a broader trend because there is not “an unlimited stock of would-be offenders who are willing to pull the trigger.”

The Council on Criminal Justice itself published data on Tuesday that demonstrated that most instances of violent crime had decreased in Washington during the first half of 2026, except for aggravated assault and gun assault, which increased.

“In places that have both had federal interventions and not, we’ve seen declines,” Johnson told the Washington Examiner. “But I also think that one big thing is policing has gotten smarter. Community groups have gotten smarter. We will share intel between enforcement and non-enforcement groups, enforcement groups across jurisdictions. Of course, you’ve had technology that has come on and made that data sharing a lot easier and helped close cases.”

Johnson added that the National Guard’s deployment in Washington could have had a “deterrent effect,” though that may not be “sustainable” when members return home. The Washington Examiner reported Tuesday that the National Guard’s presence has been met with mixed reactions among locals, with some residents welcoming their presence on the streets.

“When the local leaders are supported by the federal government, we’ve always seen those types of task forces have worked wonders,” he said. “Really, the next question is how can we sustain it? We know that crackdowns can be like a diet for crime, right? The thing is, I already had a diet. What’s the working out? What’s the meal plan? What’s those things that you can sustain it?”

Trump’s crime record is generally one of the president’s political strengths. Republicans have typically been the more trusted party on crime and public safety and have rode the issue to major victories in recent years, including a number of shock congressional upsets in New York during the 2022 midterm cycle.

But his record may not be enough to stem the tide given voters’ economic concerns.

“Lowered crime numbers are more helpful when they address a rising concern especially during the summer months,” Marist Institute for Public Opinion Director Lee Miringoff told the Washington Examiner. “But the economy, headed by rising prices and the cost of gas, remain the dominant public concerns for the midterm elections.”

That is not only in Miringoff’s polling. This week’s Economist-YouGov tracking poll identified that inflation/prices was the top voter concern of 31% of respondents, in comparison to 3% who told pollsters it was crime.

Republican strategist Doug Heye contended, too, that Trump could be a victim of his own success when it comes to crime.

“When problems are solved or reduced, they tend to lose focus in voters’ minds,” Heye told the Washington Examiner. “Trump has been correct [when] he’s sort of complained that no one‘s talking about the border anymore. So the reduced crime rate is something he definitely should be talking about. But the lion’s share of what he and Republicans on the ballot need to be talking about is what they’ve done and what they’re going to continue to do to try and bring down prices.”

TRUMP INSTALLS LOYALIST WILL SCHARF AS WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL AHEAD OF POTENTIAL DEMOCRATIC INVESTIGATIONS

Regardless, Republican National Committee spokesman Max Lippel disagreed, arguing “Trump’s hard work is not going unnoticed, as families are safe again.”

“After years of Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies that coddled criminals and illegals, President Trump has restored law and order,” Lippel told the Washington Examiner. “Americans are seeing the effects of a President who backs the blue, places violent criminals behind bars, and puts public safety first.”