President Donald Trump minimized the seriousness of domestic disturbances Monday as he touted the impact of his campaign to reduce violence in D.C., accusing city officials of inflating crime numbers by including incidents that “take place in the home” such as a man’s “little fight with the wife.”
Trump cited the issue during a half-hour speech at the Museum of the Bible, describing such domestic disturbances as “much lesser” crimes that are included in city statistics, thwarting his ability to declare victory after taking over policing in the nation’s capital.
“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 percent. But we are … a safe city,” Trump said.
Trump suggested without evidence that altercations between partners have been overreported to police in D.C., a phenomenon that would contradict decades of public health research showing domestic disturbances tend to be underreported.
A White House spokeswoman said in a statement that the president, who made the comments while unveiling an effort to get Americans to pray more, “wasn’t talking about or downplaying domestic violence.”
“President Trump’s Executive Order to address crime in DC even specifically took action against domestic violence,” said spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. “While President Trump is making America safer, the Fake News is whipping up their latest hoax in real time to distract from the Administration’s tremendous results.”
Dawn Dalton, executive director of the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she’s unconvinced by the White House’s explanation of the president’s comments, which she said undermine the seriousness of domestic violence.
“The frequency and harm of domestic violence is not paid enough attention to, and remarks such as the president’s underscore that reality,” Dalton said.
Natalia Otero, co-founder and executive director of DC Safe, which helps domestic violence victims, said the nonprofit receives calls from about 12,000 people each year, about 2,000 of whom are at risk of violence in incidents that “are much more than just an argument at home.” While the number of victims DC Safe serves annually has remained relatively stable, the intensity of violence directed at them has increased dramatically in recent years, Otero said, pointing to a spike in the number of homicides tied to domestic violence.
Not taking that increase seriously is “a recipe for disaster,” she added.
Others denounced Trump’s comments as anti-woman.
“His misogyny and view of women as lesser-than, of men as entitled to power and control and violence, is unrelenting,” said Cynthia Miller-Idriss, an American University professor and author of “Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism.”
“Instead of being serious about reducing crime by addressing and reducing domestic and intimate partner violence, he is now suggesting we reclassify horrific forms of interpersonal violence as not criminal at all — just as a ‘little fight,’” Miller-Idriss added in a text message. “This takes us back to the Dark Ages.”
Trump has previously faced blowback for declining to condemn domestic abuse. In February 2018, his staff secretary, Rob Porter, resigned after two ex-wives accused him of physical and emotional abuse. After the resignation, Trump told reporters that Porter was having a “tough time” and “we absolutely wish him well.” The president said nothing about the allegations made by Porter’s ex-wives and did not condemn domestic violence generally.
Trump then appeared to come to Porter’s defense.
“Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?” Trump wrote on Twitter at the time, adding: “Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused — life and career are gone.”
Days later, Trump pivoted amid increasing pressure while talking with reporters during a White House event.
“I am totally opposed to domestic violence of any kind,” he said. “Everyone knows that.”
