Trump Wants Death Penalty for Every Murder in DC

Donald Trump just went all in on crime in Washington, DC — saying his government will now seek the death penalty in every single murder case in the capital.

Speaking during a Labor Day-themed cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump laid it out in his typical blunt fashion:

“Anybody murders something in the capital: capital punishment. Capital capital punishment,” he said, clearly enjoying the wordplay.

“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, DC, we’re going to be seeking the death penalty. And that’s a very strong preventative, and everybody that’s heard it agrees with it.”

Trump admitted it would spark backlash, but shrugged it off:

“I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have no choice. States are gonna have to make their own decision.”

Washington, DC isn’t like the rest of the US. Since it’s a federal district, nearly all violent crimes are prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office — not local prosecutors. That means Trump’s Justice Department can move aggressively on capital cases there in a way they can’t in the states.

This marks a total reversal from Biden’s years. Biden had paused federal executions and even commuted nearly every death row sentence before leaving office, saying the US should “eliminate the death penalty”.

Trump flipped it immediately. On his second inauguration day in January, he signed an executive order to “restore” executions, declaring:

“Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens.”

This isn’t new territory for Trump. In his first term, from 2017 to 2021, his administration carried out 13 federal executions — more than all other presidents combined since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

He’s doubled down since returning. In March, he demanded Congress make the death penalty mandatory for anyone who murders a police officer. And now he’s targeting all murders in DC.

Public opinion, though, isn’t entirely on his side. Support for capital punishment has slipped to 53% from 63% a decade ago, according to Gallup polls.

Trump has been leaning on DC crime as proof of his law-and-order brand. He deployed thousands of National Guard troops to the capital earlier this month, bragging that “over a thousand” criminals had been taken off the streets.

Local police data, however, shows violent crime actually dropped to a 30-year low in 2024, with homicides down 32% year-on-year. Trump flatly rejects those numbers:

“What they did is they issued numbers: ‘It’s the best in 30 years.’ Not the best. It’s the worst. It’s the worst. And they gave phoney numbers.”

He also brushed off accusations that his approach makes him authoritarian:

“The line is that I’m a dictator, but I stop crime. So a lot of people say, ‘You know, if that’s the case, I’d rather have a dictator.’ But I’m not a dictator. I just know to stop crime.”