Majority of Americans approve of Trump's approach on crime: AP-NORC poll
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As armed National Guard troops patrol the nation's capital, a majority of Americans now see handling crime as a relative strength for President Trump, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
Why it matters: Americans aren't generally happy about the president's handling of immigration and the economy, but 53% said they approved of his approach on crime, the poll found.
- The poll also found that the vast majority of Americans, 81%, see crime as a "major problem" in large cities.
Yes, but: Few of those polled — about one in four — said crime is a major problem in their own community.
Driving the news: Trump deployed the National Guard in D.C. earlier this month after the assault of a former DOGE staffer. He has threatened to bring in the "regular military" as well.
- The move came despite a decline in violent crime in the city during the first half of the year.
- The president has threatened to do the same in Democratic-led cities like Chicago and New York City.
Reality check: Violent and property crime rates dropped to a two-decade low in 2024, per FBI data released this month.
- Homicides and other crime surged during the pandemic.
Zoom in: Democrats and Republicans are split on using the military in urban law enforcement.
- About 8 in 10 Republicans say it's acceptable for the federal government to assist local police, and about half support federal takeovers of large city police departments.
- Democrats are overwhelmingly opposed to the federal government sending troops to cities at all.
Go deeper: Nation's violent crime rate fell in 2024 to lowest in 20 years: FBI
Methodology: The nationwide poll of 1,182 U.S. adults was conducted Aug. 21-25. The overall margin of error is ±3.8 percentage points.
