President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Monday to issue a resounding endorsement of his FBI director and deputy director, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino respectively, amid criticism from the right regarding the Justice Department’s earlier claim that there is no Jeffrey Epstein “client list.”
Trump’s endorsement included a link to an article by The Federalist, in which the outlet reported that the murder rate in the United States is currently the lowest it has been in decades.
“The FBI, under the direction of Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, is back to the basics: Locking up criminals, and cleaning up America’s streets,” Trump wrote. “We have the Greatest Law Enforcement professionals in the World, but ‘Politics’ and Corrupt Leadership often prevented them from doing their job.
“That is no longer the case, and now, they have been unleashed to do their jobs, and they are doing just that. Keep it up — MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!” he added.
The article, by noted criminologist John R. Lott Jr., author of the book “More Guns, Less Crime,” begins: “While we still have more than half a year to go, Kash Patel, the FBI’s director, says that the U.S. is on track to have the lowest murder rate ever. The current record low occurred in 2014 when the FBI reported a murder rate of 4.45 per 100,000.”
Lott added: “The question is: why? Law enforcement matters, but it is probably also that Trump is deporting criminal illegal aliens.”
In a recent podcast, Patel explained his approach to law enforcement: “Let good cops be cops. I’m gonna let you, the agents, the police officers, the sheriffs, go out there and do the work you so badly want to do. And I’m gonna give you the resources you need to do it. And I’m gonna take away the politicization and weaponization … and that’s what we’ve done.”
Rather than concentrating a third of FBI agents in the D.C. area, Director Kash Patel has redeployed them across the country to focus on regions with higher crime rates, Lott noted further.
A newly declassified document—released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard—reveals that, under the Biden administration, law enforcement resources were being diverted to monitor “non-criminal” activities, including conservative Catholics, parents attending school board meetings, and individuals using symbols such as “2A” or other Second Amendment-related imagery, ne pointed out.
One FBI memo was reportedly distributed to over 1,000 employees nationwide, instructing them to specifically target conservative Catholics, Lott said, noting further that the Trump administration was also removing left-wing diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) programs from all government agencies, but especially federal law enforcement.
“You let law enforcement catch criminals, making it riskier for criminals to commit crime, and you will get less crime,” Lott wrote.
He also believes a big portion of the crime reduction is the administration’s laser focus on removing criminal aliens. As the Wall Street Journal noted, “ICE operations have received so much attention, prompting migrants to be more cautious, according to agents and leaders.”
Since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, the FBI has dedicated over 1 million hours working alongside ICE, the DEA, and local law enforcement to arrest more than 10,000 illegal immigrants—specifically targeting those who crossed the border during the Biden administration.
Many of those apprehended have criminal records, and officials believe the increased pressure is forcing others to scale back their criminal activity to avoid detection—potentially leading to a noticeable drop in crime rates.
“Reducing crime isn’t rocket science. If you make it riskier for criminals to commit crime, you will get less crime. Letting police focus on going after criminals matters. Getting serious about illegal aliens who are committing crimes can’t be ignored,” Lott concluded.