The Republican Party is capitalizing on the fear factor. Under the leadership of former President Trump, the party emphasizes the threat of violent crime, despite a decrease in crime rates from their peak during the pandemic, Reason reports. Republicans are moving away from the steps they had taken toward criminal justice reform in the past few years. This much was clear on the second night of the 2024 Republican National Convention, whose theme was "Make America Safe Again." Several presenters spoke of the need to get tough on crime. "We are experiencing a plague of crime across America," said retired police Lt. Randy Sutton. "It's all made America more dangerous than ever before." If Trump's choice of running mate signaled how thoroughly he has bent the GOP's economic policy to his will, Tuesday night at the convention provided a indication of how thoroughly the party platform has abandoned any prospect of criminal justice reform.
Trump accepted his party's nomination for the first time, in 2016, during what he called "a moment of crisis for our nation." He detailed frightening statistics from big cities: murder totals up 50% in Washington, D.C., and up 60% in Baltimore; more than 2,000 victims of gun violence in Chicago in the previous year alone. Trump conveyed similar fears at the 2020 convention, held amid the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide racial justice protests. While 2020 did see a nationwide spike in violent crime amid summer protests, murder rates fell precipitously in 2023, and preliminary data for the beginning of 2024 suggests that overall violent crime has continued falling and may hit record lows by the end of the year. Ginning up fears of violent crime was key to Trump's—and by extension, his party's—pitch to America. In his inaugural address, he warned of "the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives" and pledged, "This American carnage stops right here and stops right now."
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