Paul Krugman remains one of the left’s most influential voices. In his latest column, he argues that President Trump avoids taking credit for the drop in murders because Trump’s ultimate goal is cruelty rather than public safety. Krugman contends that Trump’s policies have made crime worse than it otherwise would have been. But if Trump’s policies truly reflect “cruelty,” how should we account for the lives they may have saved – particularly the lives of black Americans, who suffer a disproportionate share of murder victimization?
His column illustrates how people on the political left are trying to explain away the truly record-low crime rates under President Trump.
Krugman claims Trump “won’t mention” the good news about plunging crime rates. In fact, Trump has repeatedly highlighted the decline. During this year’s State of the Union address, he declared: “In the last year, the murder rate saw its single largest decline in recorded history. This is the biggest decline, think of it, in recorded history, the lowest number in over 125 years, since 1900.” He has repeated that claim in speeches, social media posts, and televised Cabinet meetings. FBI Director Kash Patel and other administration officials have likewise credited the administration’s policies after the Council on Criminal Justice reported historically low homicide levels.
Krugman writes that murders are “approaching lows not seen since the 1960s in a number of big cities.” The national numbers tell an even more remarkable story. Since national recordkeeping began in 1900, the previous record-low murder rate was approximately 4.5 per 100,000 people. The rate stood at about 5.0 per 100,000 in 2024, but fell to just under 4.0 in 2025, and, if the Council on Criminal Justice’s reported 18% decline in murders across the nation’s 30 largest cities during the first half of 2026 reflects the national trend, the U.S. murder rate will fall to roughly 3.25 per 100,000 this year – the lowest rate ever recorded.
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