Bill Maher says Trump toughness, safety net may have curbed crime
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesComedian and political commentator Bill Maher argued Friday that Democratic safety-net programs and President Trump’s hard-line governing style may have contributed to the sharp decline in U.S. crime, offering his explanation during the closing segment of HBO’s closing monologue on “Real Time.”
Mr. Maher told his audience, “It’s not just drug crime that’s way down, it’s all crime,” pointing to the spread of license-plate-reading Flock cameras as one likely factor unconnected to politics.
He went on to credit Democrats’ expansion of the social safety net with reducing desperation-driven offending, while crediting Mr. Trump’s combative posture.
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“And [it’s] because Trump is a badass,” he said. “Now, I don’t agree with many of his methods, like how they sometimes just deport people to countries where they have absolutely no connection, like Meghan and Harry. Is doing it this way the right thing? No. But it’s just childish to pretend that when you elect a f—- around and find out president, a no more Mr. Nice Guy, boot in your ass, V for Vendetta, kick ass and take names, “say hello to my little friend” president, that’s not going to have some effect on crime. He has UFC fights on the lawn. I think the bad guys got the message.”
Mr. Maher’s framing is his own assessment rather than an established research finding. A mid-year analysis from the Council on Criminal Justice, which tracked 13 offense categories across 36 large U.S. cities, found the decline uneven rather than universal: while homicide, robbery and motor vehicle theft fell sharply, drug offenses, domestic violence, sexual assault and shoplifting all rose in the first half of 2026 compared with a year earlier. The report’s authors concluded there is no single or easy explanation for the broader drop, attributing it instead to a mix of demographic, behavioral and policy factors that remain under study.
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