Crime is running riot in Joe Biden's America

Nero fiddling while Rome burned is a common metaphor for leaders who ignore the flames around them to pursue some other objective. Nowhere is that more true today than in the United States, where Democrat leaders at every level seem to spend their time obsessing over Donald Trump while cities burn with crime.

By the end of 2022, the Council on Criminal Justice estimated that the homicide rate across 27 American cities was 34 per cent higher than it was in 2019. Gun assaults in the 11 cities reporting data rose 39 per cent, and motor vehicle thefts by a stunning 59 per cent.

And where is this violence occurring? Among the largest US cities, those with Republican mayors have a homicide rate of 9 per 100,000 people. In cities with Democratic mayors, the homicide rate is 16 per 100,000, nearly twice as high. In cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Seattle, property and violent crimes have risen significantly.

In stark contrast to the four years prior, President Joe Biden’s America has wrought chaos and swift decay. While Democrats seem intent on getting Donald Trump on a criminal charge – any criminal charge – they seem to have less time for dealing with the violent crime running wild on the streets.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is desperate to nail Trump over the Stormy Daniels affair. Meanwhile, his own city is being ripped apart. Major crimes rose by 22 per cent last year, while homicides are still above their 2019 level. Some 433 people were murdered in New York last year, still well up on their 2017 low of 292.

So prevalent is the crime concern in the largest cities that crime reduction was the central focus of many mid-term elections. This wasn’t terribly surprising given the Left-wing “defund the police” attitude, which is at least partially responsible for the current state of lawlessness nationwide. It turns out that demoralising the police has consequences which disproportionately impact the most disadvantaged areas.

The cities most greatly aggrieved share a common political thread – they’re all run by Democrats, and not by accident. Over the last decade, Democratic donors have pumped millions into securing the election of liberal prosecutors in America’s largest cities. Many of those elected are political neophytes without prosecutorial experience – something that was previously assumed to be necessary to hold the office – but possessed instead of woke convictions and trendy beliefs that progressives seem to see as an acceptable alternative.

A simple look at the state of the US tells us how that is working out. Meanwhile, at the southern border lawlessness prevails, with illegal immigrants from around the world crossing each year as the Biden administration shrugs its shoulders. Fentanyl seizures are skyrocketing. The country is descending into abject chaos, and while Democrats may get emotional satisfaction from fiddling while the Republic burns, the toll in crime, death, and destruction is no laughing matter.

William A. Jacobson is a Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School and President and Founder of the Legal Insurrection Foundation

Kemberlee Kaye is Editorial Director at the Legal Insurrection Foundation