President Trump’s own FBI director just blew a hole in his narrative—on live TV, standing right next to him.
At a press conference Monday, Trump painted a grim picture of Washington, D.C., calling it a city drowning in “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.” He announced plans to send in the National Guard and take over D.C.’s police force, saying he would “rescue” the city and use the move as a model for others.
But then Kash Patel, the man Trump appointed to lead the FBI, stepped up to the mic—and contradicted the entire premise.
“Murder rates are plummeting,” Patel said. “We are now reporting that the murder rate is on track to be the lowest in US history – in modern recorded history.”
That one line undercut everything Trump had just claimed.
Crime stats back Patel up. In D.C., homicides are down 12% this year. Assaults with dangerous weapons are down 20%. Burglaries: down 20%. Robberies: down 30%. Yet Trump still insisted the city is more dangerous than “Bogota, Colombia” and “Mexico City.”
“You don’t have safety,” Trump said. “The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City—some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on earth. Much higher.”
That’s false. And as he spoke, networks like CNN and MSNBC were already airing graphics showing crime is down, not up.
The move to federalize D.C.’s police department—something never done before—has sparked alarm.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser didn’t mince words. “Unsettling and unprecedented,” she said. “I think I speak for all Americans—we don’t believe it’s legal to use the American military against American citizens on American soil.”
She warned that Trump’s plan could backfire, making residents less likely to report crimes or cooperate with police.
Critics say this is more about power than safety.
Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin accused Trump of “playing political games using service members and federal law enforcement officials.”
“Donald Trump’s record as president is marked by gross abuses of power,” Martin said, calling the move “no exception.”
Trump’s press conference came just days after a violent carjacking involving a former federal employee made headlines. He seized on the incident, deploying more federal agents and even pushing to charge kids as young as 14 as adults.
But with his own FBI director bragging about record-low murder rates, Trump’s justification for martial-style control over D.C. is on shaky ground. What was meant to be a tough-on-crime announcement turned into an accidental self-own—broadcast live, in front of the country.
“Thanks to this team behind me and President Trump’s priorities,” Patel added.
The irony was lost on no one.
Watch Patel’s full remarks in the video below:
