Donald Trump at a New Hampshire campaign event on Jan. 17, 2024.Photo:Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty

Former US President Donald Trump introduced during a campaign event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024.

Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty

In a Grand Rapids speech that relied heavily on anti-immigrant rhetoric — includingcalling people who entered the U.S. illegally “animals”— Trump raised the topic of crime in America. “Wouldn’t we love to have a statistic where crime is down 67%? Ours is only going in one direction,” he said, while pointing toward the ceiling.

AsCNN highlighted, Trump’s claim ignored recent crime data. In March the FBI reportedpreliminary statistics from 2023, which show a 6% drop in violent crime compared to 2022, and a 13% drop in murder. Reported crimes decreased in nearly every category, with only motor vehicle theft seeing an uptick.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during an event on the South Lawn of the White House August 5, 2021 in Washington, DC. Biden delivered remarks on the administration’s efforts to strengthen American leadership on clean cars and trucks.

Political science professor Anna Harvey, who leads New York University’s Public Safety Lab, told CNN that not only is Trump’s claim patently false, but it overlooks the troubling crime statistics from his own time in office.

Asher — who previouslywrote forThe New York Timesthat the 2020 murder increase was unprecedented — highlighted that the apparent progress in 2023 will help the murder rate return to roughly what it was when Trump took office.

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source: people.com