Charlotte leaders push back on Trump claims of 'blood-soaked killing fields' in NC

Nora O'Neill, The Charlotte Observer on Sep 17, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte leaders are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s portrayal of the city and North Carolina as extraordinarily violent, saying his description clashes with recent crime trends.

Trump made crime a centerpiece of a Wednesday rally in Gastonia for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley. The president repeatedly described Charlotte and the state as dangerous and blamed former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, Whatley’s opponent, for the violence.

Trump called North Carolina one of the most dangerous states in the country, and accused Democrats of turning cities into “blood-soaked killing fields.” But Charlotte officials say that depiction doesn’t match what they are seeing locally.

“Every act of violence is one too many, and public safety will always be a top priority for me,” City Council member Dimple Ajmera said. “But calling Charlotte a ‘blood-soaked killing field’ simply does not match the facts.”

Council member Malcolm Graham similarly said Trump’s characterization of Charlotte and North Carolina was “inconsistent with the data and the facts.” He said Charlotte’s public-safety trajectory is improving, but falling crime statistics do not necessarily mean every resident feels safer.

“If you don’t feel safe, you’re not safe, no matter what we do,” Graham said.

Charlotte’s recent crime statistics largely point downward. CMPD reported in July that overall crime was down 16% during the first half of 2026, compared with the same period in 2025. Violent crime fell 8%, robberies 23%, aggravated assaults 4%, vehicle thefts 31% and burglaries 33%. Homicides were an exception, rising slightly from 39 to 40.

Those declines followed another significant drop in 2025, when CMPD reported violent crime fell 21% and overall crime fell 9%.

Official data shows reported violent crime has been falling for several years statewide. North Carolina’s violent-crime rate remains somewhat above the national average, but available federal data do not support Trump’s assertion that the state is among the most violent in the country.

In 2024, the latest year with comparable FBI data across states and while Cooper was still governor, North Carolina recorded 376 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, about 4.6% higher than the national average. U.S. News & World Report puts North Carolina at 31 out of the 50 states for violent crime.

North Carolina’s state analysis says violent crime was already declining in 2024, before Trump returned to office in January 2025, and continued falling in 2025 and the first half of 2026 after a steep increase during the pandemic. Violent crime fell 5.8% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Property crime fell 11.9%, financial crime 2.1% and drug crime 3.2%.

Those same declines were being touted by Trump’s own administration even as he described North Carolina in far darker terms.

A White House news release Wednesday said the Trump administration was “making North Carolina safe again” and argued that “the numbers prove it.” The release cited declines in murders, robberies and motor vehicle thefts statewide and falling crime in Charlotte, Raleigh and Wilmington.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche offered a similar message from the rally stage.

“North Carolina is ground zero for exactly what is working,” Blanche said. “Communities are safer, families are stronger, and side-by-side with your local county sheriffs, police officers and state partners, people are able to go to bed at night and feel a lot safer than they did just two years ago.”

Trump, speaking later, described the state very differently.

“Nobody used to think of North Carolina as a dangerous state,” Trump said. “It was beautiful, it was apple pie. Right? And now it’s one of the most violent and one of the worst in the whole nation.”

Trump used similar language at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas last week, where he called North Carolina a “crime-ridden state.”

Whatley focused heavily on crime, too, though his remarks centered more on Cooper’s record. He blamed Cooper for policies he said put criminals back on the streets and repeatedly invoked a 2021 prison settlement reached during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump and Whatley also tied that settlement to the killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s light rail last year. The Observer has previously reported that DeCarlos Brown Jr., who is charged in Zarutska’s death, was released from prison before the settlement took effect after serving his sentence.

The settlement did result in the accelerated release of thousands of other inmates during the pandemic. It came after civil rights groups sued North Carolina over prison conditions, and a judge indicated he was likely to rule against the state and find those conditions unconstitutional if officials did not reduce the prison population. Brown’s name was retroactively added to the list to meet settlement criteria.