When President Donald Trump said Baltimore is “so far gone,” the usual suspects clutched their pearls. The mayor fired off a press release about how “safe” Baltimore supposedly is, claiming it’s the safest it’s been in fifty years. Folks, I don’t know what version of Baltimore Brandon Scott is living in, but it sure isn’t the one the rest of us see.
Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Yes, homicides are down from where they were. The city logged fewer than 300 murders last year, the first time that’s happened in nearly a decade. But let’s not kid ourselves: nearly 300 murders in a city of 570,000 is still one of the worst per-capita murder rates in the country . If that’s “progress,” then the bar has been buried so low it’s in the basement.
Calling Baltimore “the safest it’s been in fifty years” because we had 32 fewer murders and 37 fewer non-fatal shootings than last year is like bragging your house only got robbed twice instead of three times. The problem is still there, staring us in the face.
The Decades-Long Decline
Scott wants credit for one year of “improvement,” but Baltimore’s been in a downward spiral for decades. Since the riots of 2015, the city has averaged over 330 murders a year . Whole neighborhoods have been hollowed out by drugs and crime. Families and businesses have packed up and left. Every mayor—O’Malley, Dixon, Rawlings-Blake, Pugh, Young, and now Scott—has promised a turnaround. Yet the violence never stops.
President Trump was right to lump Baltimore in with Chicago, Oakland, New York, and Los Angeles. These are all cities run by Democrats where crime is out of control, and where city leaders pretend otherwise. Chicago had over 600 murders in 2023 . New York is seeing assaults and subway attacks climb . Los Angeles is drowning in property crime and car thefts .
This isn’t a coincidence. It’s the natural outcome of soft-on-crime policies and Democratic “leadership.”
Trump’s Straight Talk
What Trump said wasn’t meant to flatter the city’s political class. He told the truth: violent crime in our major cities is a national problem and a threat to the country. Federal workers, taxpayers, and the stability of our government are impacted when America’s cities fall apart.
That’s why Trump has pushed for tougher policing, federal help when needed, and accountability. Contrast that with the Democratic playbook: cherry-pick stats, declare “historic progress,” and hope the press doesn’t ask too many hard questions.
Baltimore Deserves Better
The mayor says Trump should “turn off right-wing propaganda.” I’d suggest Mayor Scott step outside City Hall and talk to the families who don’t let their kids walk to the corner store after dark. Those families aren’t reading “right-wing propaganda”—they’re living the reality.
Baltimore deserves real leadership, not spin. It needs law and order, not excuses. And it needs leaders who care more about protecting neighborhoods than polishing their national image.
President Trump wasn’t wrong to call Baltimore “so far gone.” He was right. And until City Hall admits it, nothing will change.
ENDNOTES
- Baltimore Banner – “Baltimore ends 2023 with fewer than 300 homicides, a milestone not seen in nearly a decade.”
- FBI Uniform Crime Reports – Homicide Rates by City, 2022.
- Baltimore Sun – “Baltimore’s murder tally from 2015–2020.”
- Chicago Tribune – “Chicago ends 2023 with more than 600 homicides.”
- NYPD Crime Data 2023 – Felony assaults and subway crime.
- Los Angeles Times – “LAPD reports surge in property crime and auto thefts.”
Scott McCann is a Contributor for Direct Line News can be reached at Scott.McCann@mcgopclub.com
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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