Tipsheet

Check Out This Ridiculous Axios Headline About Plummeting Crime Rates

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  February 11, 2026 8:00 AM

At the end of January, The New York Times reported on a study showing that the crime rate in the United States declined, with all seven categories of violent crime tracked by analysts falling below pre-pandemic levels. The NYT also noted researchers were having "trouble" explaining the drop in crime, citing "factors like improved policing and medical, along with social and environmental factors like aging demographics, obesity, and widespread surveillance in major cities."

Others pointed out that the Trump administration's policies of deporting violent criminal illegal aliens, and the administration's push to enforce laws and punish criminals, is likely the driving factor.

But since the Left can't give President Trump any credit, they pretend the lower crime rate is inexplicable.

Now Axios is out with an even hotter take on the plummeting crime rates, claiming they're dropping despite "Trump's crackdown rhetoric."

What does that even mean?

Here's more:

Violent crime dropped sharply across America's biggest cities in 2025, according to new data reviewed by Axios.

Why it matters: The stats were yet another sign that violent crime in the U.S. was starkly different from what President Trump cited as his reason for sending federal troops to Chicago, Portland, Washington, D.C., Memphis and cities in California.

  • "Chicago is a hellhole right now. Baltimore is a hellhole right now," Trump said in September. "We have the right to [call in the National Guard] because I have an obligation to protect this country."

The big picture: The report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) shows declines across every major violent-crime category in 2025 compared to 2024. It features data from 67 of the nation's biggest police departments, and confirms other studies on last year's declines.

Ah. There it is. See, places like Chicago and Baltimore aren't "hellholes," according to Axios, so the president was wrong. Perhaps Axios is the next outlet that needs The Washington Post treatment.

They will never, ever admit that. As this writer often says, President Trump could cure cancer tomorrow, and the Axios headline would read, "Trump's Cancer Cure Puts Oncologists on the Unemployment Line."

Yes, they are.

There was an attempt.

How about both?

Wouldn't surprise us if they did.

It sure is.

So weird. The Democrats told us repeatedly that enforcing laws, arresting and imprisoning criminals doesn't lower the crime rate. 

Turns out they lied.