Overview

• Speaking Sept. 8 at Washington’s Museum of the Bible, President Trump said incidents like “a little fight with the wife” are counted as crime, casting them as “much lesser things.”
• He declared crime in the capital “virtually nothing” after a National Guard and federal law‑enforcement surge, though police data still show homicides, robberies and other offenses.
• On Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt argued he meant some reports are “made up” to hurt the crackdown, and cited 2,177 arrests since the federal takeover began.
• Survivors, advocates and elected officials condemned the remarks as minimizing abuse, warning such language discourages reporting and accountability.
• Coverage highlighted prior administration cuts and conditions on domestic‑violence funding, as CDC surveys show high lifetime rates of intimate‑partner violence and chronic underreporting.