Former President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform in all caps on the morning of the first day for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, to rage about crime, and vow to make the country safe if elected back into office.
"CRIME IN AMERICA IS OUT OF CONTROL," Trump wrote. "I AM GOING TO MAKE IT, ALONG WITH THE ECONOMY, INFLATION, STRONG BORDERS, AND ENERGY DOMINANCE, MY TOP PRIORITY."
"THE DEMOCRATS ARE HOLDING THEIR CONVENTION IN CHICAGO IN ORDER TO SHOWCASE IT, AND YET 117 PEOPLE WERE SHOT, 17 KILLED, ON THE FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND, AND 40 WERE SHOT THIS WEEKEND," Trump continued. "THAT IS A WAR ZONE, AND WILL BE HANDLED ACCORDINGLY. I WILL BRING CRIME IN AMERICA DOWN TO A TINY FRACTION OF WHAT IT IS TODAY. MOTHERS WILL NO LONGER BE LOSING THEIR CHILDREN BECAUSE WEAK, LIBERAL POLITICIANS HAVE GIVEN UP ON SECURING A CRIME FREE USA!!! I WILL STOP VIOLENT CRIME IN AMERICA!!!"
Crime became a hot-button topic in America after a moderate surge in violence during the COVID pandemic, with Republicans hammering the issue during the 2022 midterms and blaming it on liberal prosecution policies.
ALSO READ: ‘Absolutely essential’: Son of Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes is all in for Kamala Harris
In reality, however, not only is crime not increasing, crime has steadily gone down since President Joe Biden took office and is currently near a 50-year low. There is also no evidence that cashless bail, a criminal justice reform Republicans have blamed for increased crime, had any negative effect.
Chicago is commonly characterized by Republicans as a city of violence and disorder, often to push political narratives about a failure of government by Democratic politicians, who have dominated politics in Chicago for decades. The city does commonly top U.S. lists for total number of murders; however, adjusted for population size, it's not even in the top ten.
