Bloomberg Columnist Was Wrong About Thinking Biden Couldn't Bring Down Crime Rates

Remember, after the election when President Joe Biden did all he could to end America's energy independence, gas prices shot up to $7 a gallon in California? He blamed that on "Putin's price hike." Then gas prices started coming down, and all of the people who insisted the president didn't have any influence over the price of gas suddenly praised Biden for lowering it.

Bloomberg columnist didn't think Biden could do anything to affect crime rates, but now he confesses that he was wrong.

“.. violent crime did go up during Trump’s full term in office, and it has gone down during Biden’s term so far, with the decline accelerating so far this year. Those are the facts ..”@opinion @foxjust https://t.co/RcJ6c4J3X8 pic.twitter.com/ZWenvSMvKt
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) June 22, 2024

"Those are the facts."

This is remarkably and unbelievably bad faith. But it makes sense for a leftwing reporter to push to help Joe Biden. https://t.co/z87OVzNk1h
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 22, 2024

That's why we kept this map handy. According to the FBI, 6,097 police agencies, or 32 percent submitted no 2022 data. Among them were the NYPD and the LAPD.

If you see any 'news' stories this election cycle claiming "murders" and "violent crime" are down this is likely why.

More and more democrat cities have just stopped reporting their crime data to the FBI since Biden has taken office. pic.twitter.com/ocOIkiRIIc
— Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) June 12, 2024

Crime rates go down when crimes are not enforced/reported or are changed.

Makes for a good headline but try harder.
— FC Charting (@DJack6502) June 22, 2024

Hey @carlquintanilla, why are you limiting your comment to “violent crimes”? Answer: Total crimes have gone up under #Biden! Are we just to turn away when thieves run into stores on a daily basis? Get out of the big apple and talk to people in what you call “fly over country”
— Txstockinvestor (@txstockinvestor) June 22, 2024

Why are people continuing to say violent crime is lower? Where are these people living?
— FeeFreeStampede (@ZombiLiving) June 22, 2024

The price of their groceries is going down too … they just don't realize it. As POLITICO put it, "there’s little new the administration can do to change the perceptions of a stubborn electorate that’s living through an upswing — yet simply refusing to believe it."

If crime is way down, why do people think it's getting worse? And what did Biden do, exactly, to lower the crime rate?

These steep early 2024 declines are unlikely to be quite as steep for the full year. Violent crime tends to be worst in the summer, so what happens then counts more in determining annual crime rates than what happens before. Still, the situation is truly looking great at the moment. I’ve devoted many pixels over the past year to not-so-encouraging crime statistics amid the overall downward trend — local shoplifting waves in several big cities, assaults below and above ground in New York City, high and rising violent crime in a few cities such as Memphis and Washington — but now almost every indicator is pointing in the right direction.

So what does Fox think Biden did to bring down violent crime so precipitously? "In Bloomberg Opinion’s chart-based assessment of Biden’s tenure in March, I concluded that his American Rescue Plan’s $350 billion in aid to state and local governments, which he strongly encouraged them to spend on law enforcement, arguably did play a role in reducing crime," he says. Also, "The election of Biden, a Democrat who opposed calls to defund the police, paved the way for a reconsideration in many cities."

What good are more police if liberal district attorneys refuse to charge people with crimes? We've written about a Tennessee state senator who said she "felt like a slave" when the state legislature ruled that Memphis couldn't just ignore traffic violations. Vandalizing statues in front of the White House? Not a crime. Barricading two custodial workers in a campus building? Not a crime. Leaving scooter tread marks on a pride mural? That's a felony.