Another senile rant: says the world's #1 most crime-ridden country is "very safe"

Donald Trump's perspective on crime is a bit aberrant. In an interview on August 5, 2024, Trump described the Venezuelan capital city, Caracas, as "very safe."¹ Trump also praised Venezuela's brutal dictator, Nicolas Maduro, by implication, for having transformed Caracas from a "very dangerous city" to one that is now "safer than many of our [the US's] cities."²

A week later on August 12, in an interview with Elon Musk, Trump repeated his bizarre claim about a relatively low crime rate in Venezuela, telling Musk that if he loses the November election, "we'll meet the next time in Venezuela, because it'll be a far safer place to meet than in our country," because "their crime rate is coming down."³

In actuality, according to 2024 crime statistics, Caracas is the third most crime-infested city in the world,⁴ and Venezuela is the #1 most crime-ridden nation in the world.⁵

Venezuela is not the only crime-infested nation that Trump has held in the highest regard. Many times over the past decade, Trump has praised Putin, head of the Russian Mafia state. In 2022, he described Putin's invasion of Ukraine, an act of wholesale crime that killed thousands and caused untold destruction, as "genius" and "savvy."⁶ But having himself been enmeshed with Mobsters, both US and Russian, for decades, Trump's perspective on crime might not be fully objective.

1. Newsweek, "Donald Trump Says Extremely Violent Venezuelan Capital Is 'Very Safe,'" August 6, 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/trump-venezuela-caracas-comments-adin-ross-interview-1935034; Mediate, "Trump Praises Venezuela's Dictator, Says He Made Country 'Very Safe,'" August 5, 2024, https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-praises-venezuelas-dictator-says-he-made-country-very-safe/.
2. As cited above.
3. Newsweek, "Donald Trump Says He Will Go to Venezuela if He Loses Election," August 13, 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-flee-venezuela-loses-election-elon-musk-interview-1938321.
4. "Most Violent Cities in the World 2024," https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-city-rankings/most-violent-cities-in-the-world, accessed August 13, 2024.
5. "Crime Rate by Country 2024," https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/crime-rate-by-country, accessed August 13, 2024.
6. Politico, "Trump calls Putin 'genius' and 'savvy' for Ukraine invasion," February 23, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/23/trump-putin-ukraine-invasion-00010923.