CBS Admits It: Trump Was Right

CBS was forced to label President Trump’s murder-rate claim “True” after new data showed America’s homicide rate plunging to a level not seen since 1900.

Quick Take

Preliminary 2025 data from the Council on Criminal Justice points to a U.S. murder rate around 4 per 100,000, the lowest since 1900.
CBS News’ State of the Union fact-check rated Trump’s claim about the historic decline as “True,” while noting full FBI year-end numbers are still pending.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt credited border enforcement, deportations, and heavy federal policing support in high-crime areas like Washington, D.C., and Memphis.
The CCJ cautioned that causes are likely multifaceted, and the national decline started before 2025.

What the new homicide numbers show—and why the media shift matters

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt used a February 2026 briefing to highlight preliminary 2025 crime statistics from the Council on Criminal Justice showing the U.S. murder rate at its lowest level since 1900. The claim gained extra attention because CBS—often skeptical of Trump’s talking points—publicly affirmed the basic statistic during its State of the Union fact-check, even as it stressed that final nationwide federal reporting is not yet complete.

It Had to Hurt CBS to Admit President Trump Was Right About the U.S. Murder Rate
https://t.co/CqR83wCJXZ

— Townhall Updates (@TownhallUpdates) February 25, 2026

President Trump repeated the headline figure during his February 24, 2026 State of the Union address, describing the drop as the “single largest decline in recorded history” and the lowest level in more than 125 years. The key point for readers is not whether every commentator likes the messenger; it’s that the central data point is coming from an outside criminal-justice research organization and was subsequently echoed by mainstream reporting.

Trump’s enforcement argument: federal pressure, arrests, and targeted deployments

Leavitt tied the drop to enforcement choices the administration wants voters to see as a clear break from the Biden-era approach: stepped-up border security, deportations, and expanded federal law-enforcement activity. According to the briefing details reported by a CBS affiliate, the administration pointed to an increase in violent-crime arrests and a surge in enforcement against gangs, child predators, and human traffickers. Those claims were presented as indicators of a broad crackdown rather than a narrow statistical fluke.

The administration also highlighted localized results after federal involvement in specific jurisdictions. The reporting summarized reductions cited for Washington, D.C., including a steep decline in homicides, and a major reduction in assaults in Memphis after federal agents and National Guard support were deployed. Conservatives who have watched major-city leadership resist tougher policing will recognize the political subtext: the federal government used its leverage to force a more aggressive public-safety posture where local governance had struggled to deliver it.

What the CCJ and CBS fact-checks do—and do not—prove

The Council on Criminal Justice analysis, as described in the available reporting, supports the possibility that 2025 will mark a historic low when measured against data stretching back to 1900. At the same time, the CCJ cautioned that pinning the decline on any single cause is difficult. The same reporting also notes that the national homicide trend had already been moving downward from around 2022, complicating any claim that one election alone created the entire turnaround.

CBS News’ fact-check of the 2026 State of the Union put a fine point on the distinction between the “what” and the “why.” The network affirmed the magnitude of the decline as “True” based on the preliminary CCJ numbers, but it did not endorse a definitive causal story tying the trend exclusively to Trump’s 2025 policy changes. That’s an important nuance: the data can validate a historic reduction while still leaving debate over which policies deserve the most credit.

The bigger political fight: public safety, borders, and constitutional balance

For many Americans over 40, the last decade’s crime debate has felt upside down—police morale attacked, soft-on-crime rhetoric normalized, and ordinary families told to accept disorder as the price of “reform.” This week’s storyline lands because it collides with that lived experience: a national murder-rate milestone now being relayed through outlets that previously pushed back on Trump’s framing. The political consequence is obvious: public safety is back as measurable performance, not slogans.

Even with encouraging homicide numbers, the reporting also underscores limits and open questions. Full-year FBI reporting for 2025 is still awaited, and border conditions remain a moving target despite claims of historically low crossing levels and near-zero releases. Conservatives should also watch the federal-local balance carefully. Federal deployments can reduce violence, but long-term success still requires accountable local leadership that respects constitutional policing and avoids the overreach that erodes civil liberties.

For now, the most concrete takeaway is straightforward: independent trend data indicates a dramatic national homicide decline, and CBS publicly validated the core claim rather than dismissing it. That validation doesn’t settle every argument about causation, but it does reset the baseline for the national conversation. When public safety improves, families win, communities stabilize, and the country has more room to debate policy without being held hostage by fear and disorder.