“On Monday a Press Conference will be held at the White House which will, essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, D.C. It has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World,” said President Donald Trump in a Saturday Truth Social post. “It will soon be one of the safest!!!”
Last month, Audacy reported on the president’s suggestion that the federal government “could run D.C.,” made during a cabinet meeting, mentioning crime as a factor. Established as the nation’s capital in 1800, Washington D.C. is still considered a federal district. With a larger population than some states, residents have been lobbying for D.C. to become a state.
Vice President JD Vance has also criticized the district for its crime. He shared an infographic that compared D.C.’s crime rate with several cities outside of the U.S.: Lima, Peru; Havana, Cuba; Nairobi, Kenya; Brasilia, Brazil; Lagos, Nigeria; Bogota, Colombia; Mexico City, Mexico and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It showed D.C.’s homicide rate as 41 people per 100,000 people, while the other cities all had under 15 per 100,000.
“Our nation’s capital has some of the worst homicide rates in the world,” said Vance. “If this fact doesn’t anger you but President Trump’s efforts to fix it do, you might have a brain worm.”
While there is significant crime in the capitol, the U.S. State’s Attorney for the District of Columbia noted this January that 2024 marked a 30-year low in violent crime there, with rates down 35% from 2023 alone. As of Friday, violent crime in the district was down 26%, per the Metropolitan Police.
“In addition to the overall violent crime reduction, homicides are down 32%; robberies are down 39%; armed carjackings are down 53%; assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 27% when compared with 2023 levels, with the District reporting the fewest assaults with dangerous weapons and burglaries in over 30 years,” said the State’s Attorney’s office.
Crimes rates across the country dropped last year, according to data recently released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. D.C. wasn’t included in a roundup of the most dangerous cities in the country that Audacy covered last week. Still, Newsweek reported that the Trump administration has already announced it will increase federal law enforcement in the district.
“Our nation’s capital has become ridden with out-of-control violent crime thanks to misguided local leadership,” the vice president said in a Saturday X post. “President Trump is putting a stop to this lawlessness.”
However, if Trump does indeed plan a takeover of Washington D.C., he would need an act of Congress to get total control of the district, according to Bloomberg. That’s because it operates under a “home rule” law established in 1973.
“It allows residents to elect their own mayor, who appoints and can fire the police chief. They also elect a city council that can pass local laws, though they can be overturned by Congress, and that approves the district’s Congress-authorized budget,” Bloomberg explained.
Apart from hinting at a federal takeover of the capital, the Trump administration has announced other incoming changes to the area this summer. Audacy reported that, the National Park Service announced Confederate general Albert Pike’s statue will again stand over the corner of 3rd and D Streets NW soon, five years after it was torn down by protestors. We also reported on Trump’s plans to build a $200 million ballroom at the White House.