GARDEN CITY, N.Y.—President Donald Trump on Aug. 14 announced record drops in violent crime across the nation during his first year back in office during a visit to a police academy Aug. 14 in Nassau County, a key midterm battleground.
“We achieved the largest drop in murder rate ever recorded, the lowest level in 125 years since the year 1900. That was before my father was born. He would not have liked me saying that,” the president said.
Newly sworn-in Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel joined the president for the release of the FBI’s 2025 Crime Statistics Report. The report highlights that Trump’s first year back in the White House recorded the largest year-to-year decrease in violent crime on record.
Across the country, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter decreased by an estimated 18.1 percent in 2025, the White House said. Rape dropped an estimated 7.6 percent, robbery is down an estimated 18.5 percent, and aggravated assault fell by an estimated 7.2 percent.
Burglary dropped by 15.8 percent, larceny-theft by 9.8 percent, and car theft by 22.7 percent, according to the White House.
The president was joined by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican running against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in the gubernatorial election. Trump has criticized the governor over the state’s bail-reform laws, often calling them “cashless bail,” saying they have increased crime.
The event, headlined with the theme “Make America Safe Again,” was also a celebration of the contribution of law enforcement officers and first responders and doubled as a campaign event to boost local candidates running for office in New York state. Held at the Nassau County police academy, the David Mack Center for Training and Intelligence, county police and students of the academy filled the bleachers behind the president.
At every mention of “back the blue,” an expression of support for law enforcement, cheers erupted from the crowd.
“It's time for the people of New York to remind your politicians that their job is not to protect the criminals. Their job is to protect the good and hard-working people,” said Trump, who has endorsed Blakeman, blaming Hochul for releasing migrant criminals from jail.
Earlier this year, New York state made it illegal for local police departments to sign so-called 287 agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prohibiting local tax funds from being used for civil immigration enforcement. At the event, Blakeman touted Nassau County as having the most comprehensive such agreement with ICE.
Meanwhile, federal officials were full of praise for Blakeman, with Blanche promising to make the whole country as safe as Nassau County.
Blanche attributed the drop in crime nationwide to support from the president, saying that’s what happens “when you have President Trump empowering all of us, empowering me, empowering federal law enforcement to partner with our state and local cops, sheriffs, everybody.”
Blanche said it was “hard to overstate the effectiveness of what we did in 2025,” citing more than 170,000 criminal indictments.
Republican nominee Jeanine Driscoll, who is running against Democrat Rep. Laura Gillen in New York’s 4th Congressional District, will also be at the rally.
Last month, Trump endorsed Driscoll, saying in a Truth Social post that she will “work tirelessly to Safeguard our Elections, Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Ensure Law and Order.”