Trump threatened to deploy more troops to U.S. cities this week — and not just the National Guard — as part of what he describes as his national crackdown on crime.
Political data points to a clear opportunity for Trump and the Republicans.
Though FBI data show that violent crime decreased by 4.5 percent last year, a new Gallup poll released Thursday shows almost half of Americans — 49 percent — feel that crime has risen from last year — while about a third — or 33 percent — feel crime has gone down.
The Gallup poll also reveals some political risks for Trump. More Americans oppose using federal troops to combat domestic crime than support the move — but the divide is largely along political lines, as Republicans overwhelmingly support the use of troops while Democrats are opposed.
Y’know, I want to dismiss Americans being dumb, and they are, but thinking a little deeper about my own neighborhood and it might feel like there’s more crime because… surprise, there’s more homeless or struggling financially. Things very much look worse outside, although it’s somehow not understood that cities often provide care to the poor which reduces crime.
Admittedly, a majority of those ignorant people also just… never visit a city and get all their news via propaganda, but I wonder if their small towns also have increased poverty without the safeguards we have in the city, resulting in increases in crime. Wouldn’t be the first time the right projected their problems onto the rest of us.
Self reinforcing policy for republicans in the US. Just keep making things shittier and more difficult which causes more unrest, so they justify more extreme responses and power grabs. Sounds like they know exactly what they’re doing.