Obama: Trump’s Claims About Rising Crime Rates Don’t ‘Jive With The Facts’

President Barack Obama answers questions during a joint news conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, July 22, 2016. Obama says he has worked to ... President Barack Obama answers questions during a joint news conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, July 22, 2016. Obama says he has worked to deepen the U.S. relationship with Mexico and that the two countries are not just strategic and economic partners, "we're also neighbors and we're friends." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

In a Friday morning joint press conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, President Barack Obama refuted the “vision of violence and chaos” that Donald Trump offered in his speech at the Republican National Convention.

During his speech, Trump argued that crime rates in the United States have increased under Obama’s tenure, saying that “decades of progress made in bringing down crime are now being reversed by this administration’s rollback of criminal enforcement.”

In fact, FBI statistics indicate that this is untrue. Violent crime rates in the United States have been on the decline since the 1990s and have generally decreased under Obama.

Asked by Fox News’ Kevin Corke for a reaction to Trump’s comments, Obama said that the GOP nominee’s fear-mongering claims “just don’t jive (sic) with the facts.”

“When it comes to crime, the violent crime rate in America has been lowered during my presidency and any time in the last three, four decades,” Obama went on. “The fact of the matter is that the murder rate today, the violence rate today, is far lower than it was when Ronald Reagan was president, and lower than when I took office.”

He referenced recent shootings in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Minnesota, as well as the fatal shooting of five law enforcement officers in Dallas.

“We’ve just gone through a tragic period,” Obama acknowledged. “But the fact is that the rate of intentional killings of police officers is also significantly lower than it was when Ronald Reagan was president. Now those are facts. That’s data.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Absolutely true, but irrelevant, because the great unwashed of this country would rather believe the blatherings of a draft dodging coward and asshole loser than facts.

  2. Avatar for lew lew says:

    “Facts are Stupid Things”. Ronald Reagan

    It is a real quote. He was trying to repeat John Adams’ statement about facts being stubborn things and mis-remembered.

  3. Oh stewardess, I speak jive!

    (apologies to June Cleaver!)

  4. Avatar for meri meri says:

    …and this is why Democrats lose when they should have an overwhelming majority at pretty much all times.

    What Trump is doing is LYING. He is not saying things that don’t jibe with the facts. HE IS LYING.

    “Jibe with the facts” is weak kneed politician speak.

    LYING is a statement of fact.

  5. Avatar for jsfox jsfox says:

    So what you are saying is; we should lie louder and more?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

48 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for jootjoint Avatar for ajaykalra Avatar for jsfox Avatar for meri Avatar for matthew1961 Avatar for smiley Avatar for leftflank Avatar for commiedearest Avatar for hippocritic Avatar for meh Avatar for upwitoulz Avatar for tomanjeri Avatar for donnyyoung Avatar for hquain Avatar for dickweed Avatar for mrf Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for wagonmound Avatar for mpower1952 Avatar for roger_mexico Avatar for woland66 Avatar for centralasiaexpat Avatar for ephraim_tutt

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: