Former President Donald Trump told attendees at a Friday event in Las Vegas, Nevada, that a "deadly wave of lawlessness" is hitting the United States and fueled by Democrats' soft-on-crime policies.
While speaking at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino, Trump pointed out that violent crime has skyrocketed in "every city the radical left defunded the police," proceeding to list crime statistics in some of the country's largest.
"In Washington, D.C., there was a 35% rise from 2019-2021, and that's low compared to many other cities. In New York, it was up 52%. In Chicago, it was so bad it's a war zone. It was up much more than 60%. In Atlanta, it was even worse than Chicago. You practically can't walk outside without getting shot. It's so bad. The list goes on and on," the former president said.
"One regret I have as president is that I let Democrats that should be running their cities do their job on crime," he continued, lamenting that he didn't do their job for them but promising he wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Trump made his comments at the event with Joe Lombardo, Clark County sheriff and Republican candidate for Nevada governor, and Republican Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt. He also focused on the crisis at the southern border, stating that the U.S. "needs to be strong and do what needs to be done" regarding the unprecedented wave of fentanyl crossing the southern border.
"We must also have the death penalty for those who kill police officers, as well as those who kill through human trafficking," he declared.
"We can be street-wise, tough and smart and end our problem, or we can be politically correct," Trump added.
The former president was quick to point out that throughout his administration, illegal border crossing reached an all-time low, only slightly under 300,000 in 2017. Meanwhile, in Joe Biden's first full year, border crossings skyrocketed to more than 1.6 million, according to WOLA.
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