CNN’s fact-checker is trying to sell their viewers on the assertion that President Trump is wrong about crime in Washington, D.C., claiming that the murder rate plummeted last year.
Reporter Daniel Dale claimed “In 2023, D.C. had its most murders in more than two decades, 274 of course, that’s terrible. But it then plunged to 187 murders last year.”
White House Deputy Assistant to the President Alex Pfeiffer immediately took issue with that, writing
“”Plunged”! Here are the years with fewer than 187 murders in D.C.: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.”
Dale doubled down on his representation of crime in D.C.:
Yes, I correctly said DC homicide plunged 32% last year and has also fallen this year, contradicting Trump’s “getting worse, not getting better.” The existence of prior better years does not disprove the existence of a 2024 plunge. This isn’t complicated. https://t.co/5yeudqoZlW
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 12, 2025
But Pfeiffer hit right back, pointing out the absurdity of Dale’s overall point:
You're praising a 500lb person for dropping to 440lbs. They still have a weight problem!
The murder rate in 2024 was double the murder rate of 2012 and ranked 4th in the nation.
D.C. has a crime problem. https://t.co/KmqoPXH95K
— Alex Pfeiffer (@Pfeiffer47) August 12, 2025
Pfeiffer hit the nail on the head with his analogy. Trump is making the point that crime is out-of-control in D.C. and it needs to be corrected. Yes, sometimes he exaggerates to make his point, and that’s what the Trump-hating media likes to focus on. But as Pfeiffer suggested, Trump’s point about crime is absolutely correct and CNN can’t see the forest for the ORANGE MAN BAD! trees.