struggle4progress (123,945 posts)
Wed Aug 13, 2025, 06:48 AM
Fact-checking claims about DC homicides
Aug 12, 2025 11:42 AM EDT
President Donald Trump said Washington, D.C.’s homicide rate is higher than “the worst places on Earth” ...
The chart Trump displayed was first shared Aug. 6 on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show.” Trump didn’t mention that the data in it is from 2023. Since then, the district’s homicide rate has fallen considerably. The rate was not the worst in the world — then or now ...
I'm not going to do the DDGing to see if Trump was literally correct with "in the world" or indulging in hyperbole, which he sometimes does. Howzabout how WashDC fits nationally?
Which cities have the highest murder rates?Which cities have the highest murder rates?Which large cities have the highest homicide rates?
The top five homicide rates among large population centers — those with more than a million residents — were the cities of:
1. Memphis, Tennessee (Shelby County)
2. St. Louis, Missouri (St. Louis city)
3. Baltimore, Maryland (Baltimore city)
4. Washington, DC, (District of Columbia, DC)
5. Birmingham, Alabama (Jefferson County).
A bit farther down the article is a chart giving the murders per 100K population. WashDC's rate is 35.9 murders per 100K, very similar to St. Louis and Baltimore. There is a significant drop in the rate from WashDC to #5, Birmingham.
This is 2023 data, which may be as current as is available. The article is dated July 11, 2025. As for the claim it improved in 2024 and so far in 2025, DC police leaders have been fudging the data, so reality may be that 2024 and 2025 so far were worse than 2023. That DC police leaders have been fudging the data is a clear sign that this is likely.