Earlier this week, President Donald Trump proposed the idea of reopening Alcatraz as a prison once more. In addition to his initial Sunday post on Truth Social, he's been posting more about it, including having media hits discussing the idea. The suggestion has led to predictable screeching from Democrats, as has been the case with everything the president has been doing for his two terms. Trump likes to have fun and get a rise out of people, especially his critics on the radical left, but it also speaks to a larger issue about the president cracking down on crime.
"REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be," Trump's post from Sunday night read. "No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets. That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders. We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally. The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
When it comes to Trump's numbers on crime, this framing actually came from CNN's Harry Enten, who mentioned that right off the bat when speaking with Kate Bolduan on "CNN News Central" this week.
As Bolduan pointed out, Trump "reiterates law and order," mentioning it as "a key phrase and a key issue that was important during his campaign." She also asked, "What does that have to do with this, do you think, and why it could be driving?"
"Yes, I mean, it speaks to one of Trump's best issues, right?" Enten pointed out. "The idea Alcatraz, you think law and order, you think Donald Trump. I mean, look here." Speaking to recent polling, Enten pointed to how Trump enjoyed a +2 rating on his handling of crime. In stark contrast, then President Joe Biden was deeply under water, with a net -26 rating. Trump's rating is "far better than Joe Biden, who was so far underwater. My goodness, he was setting records at minus 26 points. You rarely ever see it," Enten stressed in comparison, also pointing to how it was a winning issue for Trump last November. "So Donald Trump ran in part on law and order. It was one of the reasons that he got elected. And at this particular point, Americans like what they're hearing from him on the issue of crime. And you see this right here with a plus two net approval rating," he also added, again reminding how this was "far better than Joe Biden left office with back in 2024."
Trump is not only doing far better against Biden but against his own first term. In March 2024, less than a year before he entered office, he was at a net -13 on crime, a development that Enten called "interesting."
"So this is another interesting thing, right? We compare Donald Trump's first term to now his second term," Enten said in response to Bolduan, who had asked about the two terms. "And what do we see here? We see that Donald Trump's net approval rating on handling crime is far better now at plus two points. The view of term number two. Then we go back to a retrospective approval rating back in March of 2024, in which he was underwater at minus 13 points. So he's doing 15 points better in terms of how people are viewing his handling of crime now than he was doing back in March of 2024," he continued.
That's when Alcatraz in particular came up once more, and the views some may have about this proposal from Trump. There's a bigger picture to it, though, Enten offered, after discussing the backdrop of Trump's views on crime. "So when you hear Donald Trump talking about stuff like Alcatraz. Yes, I know it's late night fodder for a lot of different folks. But what it actually speaks to is Donald Trump focusing the American people's attention on an issue in which they actually do like what he's doing. And you see it here with a net positive approval rating of plus two points, which, again, is 15 points higher than what we saw for Donald Trump in term numero uno," he explained.
The crime issue gets better for Trump in another way, though, when it comes to how much people actually worry about the issue.
"So, you know, we think about crime and we say, 'Okay, it's one thing how they're viewing Trump.' But are their views of overall crime changing as Donald Trump gets into the White House?" Enten spoke too. It turns out that these views do change. In 2024, 53 percent said they worried "a great deal" about crime, per a Gallup poll, though that number is now down to 47 percent. The board on the screen also highlighted how this is "a rare issue in which there was a decline in concern," as well as how it's "**1 of only 2 issues out of 16 to see a 5+ decline in concern among Democrats and Republicans."
"It's the first time in about five years in which the percentage of Americans worry a great deal about crime has actually dropped under the 50 percent mark," Enten pointed out as well. "And more than that, it's a rare issue that we've seen from 2024 to 2025, in which the percentage of Americans who worry a great deal about a particular issue has actually dropped by five points or more. In fact, it's one of only two issues in which we saw a five-point decline among both Democrats and Republicans."
Enten thus believes Trump will keep speaking to the issue of crime and law and order. "So I think Donald Trump is going to continue on this law and order issue because the bottom line is it is working for him," as he and Bolduan highlighted how there's "a measurable decline" among Democrats and Republicans with regards to their concern and how "interesting" it was.
I know reopening Alcatraz is "late night fodder" for some, but we're actually now talking about a top issue for Trump: crime.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) May 6, 2025
Voters like what Trump's doing on crime. His net approval is +2 pts. Biden's was -26 pts!
Trump's own net approval on crime is up 15 pts from 2024! pic.twitter.com/D8aIoWeL2I
Beyond posts about reopening Alcatraz, Trump is indeed taking action on crime and law and order. Late last month, on April 28, he signed an executive order, "STRENGTHENING AND UNLEASHING AMERICA’S LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PURSUE CRIMINALS AND PROTECT INNOCENT CITIZENS." The order mentions in part:
When local leaders demonize law enforcement and impose legal and political handcuffs that make aggressively enforcing the law impossible, crime thrives and innocent citizens and small business owners suffer. My Administration will therefore: establish best practices at the State and local level for cities to unleash high-impact local police forces; protect and defend law enforcement officers wrongly accused and abused by State or local officials; and surge resources to officers in need. My Administration will work to ensure that law enforcement officers across America focus on ending crime, not pursuing harmful, illegal race- and sex-based “equity” policies.
The polls that Enten cited aren't the only ones showing good news for Trump on this issue.
It's also worth mentioning that a poll out this week from The Economist/YouGov showed Trump with a 45-42 percent approval rating among Americans on the issue of crime, making it his best issue in that poll.
A YouGov America poll also shows that Americans are pretty evenly split on reopening Alcatraz, though 69 percent of Trump's fellow Republicans stand behind him on this, far more than the 57 percent of Democrats who oppose him on the proposal.
May 5 poll of 3,906 U.S. adults, +/-2.1%
— YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) May 5, 2025
% who would support | oppose rebuilding Alcatraz prison to reopen it as a place to hold federal prisoners
U.S. adults 39% | 37%
Democrats 21% | 57%
Independents 33% | 38%
Republicans 69% | 12%
(Link in reply) https://t.co/CuFEJMwP7v pic.twitter.com/TeETEQ8HuM
