In his second term, President Donald Trump has prioritized a crackdown on crime. As part of this, he deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C. to curb escalating violence in the nation’s capital. He’s also hinted at extending this strategy to other cities grappling with similar issues. Unsurprisingly, this move has sparked a spectrum of reactions.

A recent NPR/Ipsos poll, conducted September 19-21, 2025, provides insight into Americans’ perceptions of violent crime. The survey found that 71% of Americans view “the level of crime and violence in American cities” as “unacceptably high.” This sentiment is particularly strong among Republicans (93%) and Independents (68%). In contrast, only 54% of Democrats share this concern, with a striking 45% asserting that violent crime “isn’t that much of a problem.”

Among 20 public interest issues listed, “political extremism or polarization” and “crime or gun violence” ranked among the top three concerns. However, support for Trump’s National Guard deployment in D.C. remained divisive. While 78% of Republicans strongly or somewhat support the presence of troops in the capital, 83% of Democrats strongly or somewhat oppose it. Opposition intensified when considering other cities, with 68% of Democrats strongly against deploying guardsmen in Memphis, Tennessee, consistently ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities.

Trump’s crime-fighting measures extend beyond urban violence. In fact, a key campaign promise focused on border security and mass deportations. The NPR/Ipsos poll revealed sharp partisan divides on this front as well: 74% of Republicans support “allowing federal officers to make immigration-related stops with fewer restrictions,” while 80% of Democrats oppose it. Reportedly, the D.C. deployment has led to thousands of arrests, including illegal immigrants and gang members.

The poll’s release coincides with a wave of high-profile violent incidents that have gripped national attention. On August 22, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, was stabbed to death on the Charlotte light rail by a man who said, after the fact, “I got the white girl.” On August 27, children at Annunciation Catholic School were gunned down by a transgender-identifying man who openly hated Christians and Jews. On September 10, Christian conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was brutally assassinated during an on-campus event, allegedly by a young man named Tyler Robinson, who lived with a trans-identifying roommate.

That same day, a high school in Colorado was the center of a shooting, and at least three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centers in Texas have been attacked in the last few months — the most recent being an anti-ICE shooting in Dallas last week. Just this week, a Mormon worship center was the target of a deadly shooting, injuring at least eight and killing at least four. Notably, President Trump was nearly assassinated twice in 2024 alone.

These are only some of the most recent acts of violence that have gained national — if not global — attention. But the NPR/Ipsos polling also comes alongside another eye-catching report that put a spotlight on politically motivated crime, which found left-wing terrorism has not only increased in recent years but is currently sitting at a 30-year high.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the survey on how Americans view crime, writing on X, “While President Trump is doing everything in his power to restore law and order in America — Democrats are doubling down on their failed soft-on-crime approach.” She added, “Democrats are completely out of touch with the concerns of the American people.” President Trump also pinned the blame on Democrats, addressing the same concern Leavitt highlighted about soft-on-crime policies.

During a meeting on Thursday, Trump said concerning the rising violence that it boils down to “radical left rhetoric.” He continued, “The radical Left is causing the problem. They’re out of control. … And it’s going to get worse. And ultimately, it’s going to go back on them. … But … Democrats are causing this problem.” He argued that “it’ll [get to] a point where other people won’t take it anymore.” And, it would seem, some have already reached that point.