Domestic violence is not really a crime, says Trump

Donald Trump, addressing the Religious Liberty Commission, made some strange and shocking remarks about the recent drop in crime in Washington D.C., which he attributed to the presence of the military.

President Donald Trump downplayed domestic violence in a Monday speech as part of his White House Religious Liberty Commission — and was hit by swift condemnation.

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2025-09-08T17:30:29.709Z

He claimed that crime was not just down 87%, but much more, explaining that even a “little fight with the wife” is counted as crimes and prevented him from posting a perfect 100% rate.

During his speech, Trump, seeking to pat himself on the back for sending troops to what he described as among the “worst, most violent cities” in Washington D.C., claimed that crime had fallen far more than the 87% officially reported, declaring that it was “more than 87%”.

Trump explained that crime statistics also included “things that take place in the home, they call crime,” evoking, for example, “If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say, this was a crime.”

Trump thus continued to relegate domestic violence to “much lesser things” and regretted that this prevented him from claiming a 100% drop in crime in Washington D.C., declaring, “So now I can’t claim 100%.”

The president’s statements, echoed by several media outlets, quickly sparked a wave of outrage, while this kind of downplaying of domestic violence is proving not only dangerous, but a serious step backwards.