Donald Trump can’t stop talking about crime in Chicago. He’s threatened to send in the National Guard, calling it “the most dangerous city in the world.” But the numbers don’t lie: the most violent cities in America are in red states — and Trump is ignoring them.

The Real Crime Capitals

According to FBI data reported by The Hill, the ten cities with the highest murder rates in 2024 were:

• Jackson, Mississippi: 77.8 per 100,000
• Birmingham, Alabama: 58.8
• St. Louis, Missouri: 54.1
• Memphis, Tennessee: 40.6
• Baltimore, Maryland: 34.8
• Detroit, Michigan: 31.2
• Cleveland, Ohio: 30
• Louisville, Kentucky: 21.7
• Indianapolis, Indiana: 20
• Oakland, California: 18.6

Six of the top ten are in Republican-led states, according to The Guardian. Chicago? It ranked 14th among cities over 100,000 residents.

Falling Crime, Rising Fearmongering

Nationally, the U.S. homicide rate dropped 15% in 2024, one of the steepest declines in history, as reported by the FBI. That drop is being driven by big cities — the same places Trump likes to call “war zones.”

• Chicago: Murders down nearly 30% in 2025, on track for the city’s lowest rate in a decade.
• Baltimore: Homicides cut nearly in half since 2020, reaching 50-year lows (Guardian).
• Memphis: Murders down 25% two years running.
• Detroit: Lowest homicide count since 1965.

Trump’s answer? Accuse Democratic mayors of “falsifying data” while ignoring falling crime rates.

Troops for Optics, Not Safety

Instead of confronting violence in Republican-run cities, Trump has deployed troops to Washington, D.C., with governors from Tennessee, Texas, and Missouri eagerly sending their Guard units. But as the New York Times reported, those same governors have cities with higher violent crime rates than the nation’s capital — Memphis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Houston. None asked for federal help at home.

Adam Gelb of the Council on Criminal Justice spelled it out: “The federal government almost never does anything based on pure statistics.” And Jeffrey Butts of John Jay College was even more blunt: “They’re not doing it to improve public safety. It’s designed to humiliate political opponents.”

Even in D.C., Guard troops are patrolling monuments and government buildings — not the neighborhoods where violence is concentrated. It’s a photo op, not a crime plan.

Blame and Deflection

Republican governors haven’t taken responsibility for their states topping the homicide charts. Mississippi’s Gov. Tate Reeves blamed Jackson’s murder rate on “radical Democrats,” despite running the state himself (Hill). Missouri’s Gov. Mike Kehoe seized control of St. Louis’s police department, sparking backlash. Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Lee sent troops to D.C. while Memphis — in his own state — struggled with the nation’s fourth-highest homicide rate.

Bottom Line

The data is clear: red states have higher murder rates than blue states. Yet Trump fixates on Chicago, Baltimore, and Oakland because it fits his political script. He’s not sending troops where crime is worst. He’s sending them where it’s useful.

This isn’t about protecting people. It’s about power, optics, and keeping the “Democrat cities” narrative alive — even when the facts point south.

Sources

• The Guardian: Trump claims Chicago is ‘world’s most dangerous city’. The four most violent ones are all in red states
• New York Times: Crime festers in Republican states while their troops patrol Washington
• The Hill: Homicide rates in major U.S. cities