President Donald Trump on Monday downplayed domestic violence in a comment that has been met with backlash and shock at to those on the White House Religious Liberty Commission.
Speaking to the Religious Liberty Commission, Trump was attempting to tout his highly controversial move of sending the National Guard into Washington DC and mulling the move in other Democratic cities.
Trump claimed crime has dropped since he ordered a federal takeover of the city but said without evidence his opponents were trying to “undermine his success” by including domestic violence in the city’s crime statistics.
“They said crime’s down 87%. I said, ‘No, no, no, it’s more than 87%,” Trump said. “Much lesser things, things that take place in the home, they call crime.
“You know, they’ll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say, ‘This was a crime, see?’ So now I can’t claim 100%.”
Trump went on to claim more people are going out to eat at restaurants more often now but reports are claiming the opposite is actually happening.
Domestic violence impacts 12 million Americans a year. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, an average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and other members of Trump’s cabinet appeared to be unfazed by the President’s comments. However, he was met with severe backlash online.
“The president is now saying “domestic violence is cool actually” and it will barely be a blip on the radar,” Megan Coyne, Vice President at Mercury Public Affairs said on X.
“Domestic abuse is a crime. Marital assault and marital rape are both criminal conduct and anyone who commits them should be prosecuted. Full stop,” NBC News contributor Joyce Alene said on social media.
FWRD AXIS News has reached out to the White House for comment on this story.
