Republican Fact-Checked About Crime Under Joe Biden During Interview

Senator Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, was fact-checked by ABC News’ This Week host Jonathan Karl on Sunday when he claimed that violent crime has seen the “greatest increase” under President Joe Biden‘s tenure.

During the interview, Karl asked Scott about his views on the Supreme Court‘s recent decision to strike down a federal ban on bump stocks, which allows some guns to fire more rapidly. Scott shared his respect for the Court’s decision, but quickly shifted the focus to the issue of violent crime and said, “Under Joe Biden, we’ve seen the greatest increase in violent crime in my lifetime.”

However, Karl promptly corrected the senator, pointing out that the latest statistics on violent crime and murder rates show a decrease over the past year. “Actually, Senator, as you probably know, the latest stats on violent crime and on the murder rate, they’re actually down this past year,” Karl said.

Despite the fact-check, Scott stood by his claims, insisting that neighborhoods like the ones he grew up in have “never been ravaged [more]” under Biden’s presidency.

Newsweek has contacted both Scott and Biden’s office via email on Sunday for further comment.

The exchange between Scott and Karl comes amidst a broader debate about crime rates and the responsibility of the current administration. Republicans have said that Biden is responsible for high levels of crime, while the president has countered by saying that violent crime has fallen during his tenure.

A study published by Poynter last month found that official data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), although lagging, shows an overall decrease in violent crime during Biden’s presidency. In a speech at a national police memorial service in May, Biden stated, “It’s no accident that violent crime is near a record 50-year low.”

Poynter’s analysis of FBI data, compiled by analyst Jeff Asher of AH Datalytics, confirmed that Biden’s statement is accurate. The violent crime rate, which comprises homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, peaked in 1991 and has been falling since, with a few upward blips, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using two different 50-year time spans, the study found that the 2022 violent crime rate of just under 370 per 100,000 residents is indeed near the lowest levels in the past five decades. The rate was only marginally lower in 2014 and 2019.

Criminologists and experts have weighed in on the findings, with Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox telling the Tampa Bay Times earlier this month, “Biden’s statement about violent crime is absolutely true. Despite a spike in murder in 2020 amidst the emergence of COVID, even homicides have declined.”

According to an April 2024 Pew Research Center report, a growing share of Americans say reducing crime should be a top priority for the president and Congress to address this year. Around 58 percent of U.S. adults hold that view today, up from 47 percent at the beginning of Biden’s presidency in 2021. The report also highlights the challenges in accurately measuring crime rates in the U.S., with the two primary sources of government crime statistics—the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)—providing an incomplete picture due to limitations in data collection and reporting.

Despite these limitations, the FBI and BJS data show dramatic declines in U.S. violent and property crime rates since the early 1990s, when crime spiked across much of the nation. Using the FBI data, the violent crime rate fell 49 percent between 1993 and 2022, with large decreases in the rates of robbery (-74 percent), aggravated assault (-39 percent), and murder/nonnegligent manslaughter (-34 percent).