Sessions: Trump Promised to End American Carnage…and He Did Just That

Donald Trump ran on a platform of restoring law and order to the United States, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he has done more to live up to that promise than many are giving him credit for. In an op-ed for USA Today this week, Sessions reminded readers that Trump made a stark vow on the day of his inauguration: “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” And, Sessions says, that is a promise the president has delivered on.

In the op-ed, Sessions said that the long, steady decline in American crime that began in 1985 hit a standstill in 2014. That year, for the first time in decades, rates of violent crime began to creep back up. In some places, murder rates skyrocketed. And through it all, the Obama administration refused to act, instead buying into and perpetuating the war on police that was being inflamed by sensationalized lies coming out of places like Ferguson, Missouri. This was the state of the nation when Trump ran for office.

But, says Sessions, times have changed.

“In 2017, we brought cases against more violent criminals than in any year in decades,” he wrote. “We charged the most federal firearm prosecutions in a decade. We convicted nearly 500 human traffickers and 1,200 gang members, and helped our international allies arrest about 4,000 MS-13 members. We also arrested and charged hundreds of people suspected with contributing to the ongoing opioid crisis.

“Morale is up among our law enforcement community,” he continued. “Any loss of life is one too many, but it is encouraging that the number of officers killed in the line of duty declined for the first time since 2013, reaching its second lowest level in more than half a century. And we are empowering and supporting our critically important state, local and tribal law enforcement partners as we work together to protect communities from crime.”

2017 was a wild year filled with some of the worst journalism in the history of that storied profession. Because the media is largely aligned in a ridiculous and unhelpful war with this administration, many of Trump’s accomplishments have been downplayed or downright ignored. There can be no doubt that there is a distinct connection between his low job approval ratings and this coverage, because the numbers themselves should make him one of the most popular presidents in modern history.

For that reason, the administration has to toot its own horn at every turn. How else will the American people know what’s actually going on?

Crime is down considerably since Trump took office, and – like the economic upswing – it is not a coincidence. It would be nice if the media could report these truths and save Jeff Sessions the trouble, but that’s apparently not in the cards.