President Donald Trump seemingly made light of domestic violence as he defended his takeover of D.C. law enforcement.

Trump downplayed acts of domestic violence as “much lesser” crimes. He suggested that D.C. officials exaggerated crime rates by including these types of incidents. Trump made the unfounded claim as he emphasized the alleged “success” of reducing violence in the nation’s capital.

While making a speech at the Museum of the Bible on Sept. 8, he referred to domestic violence as an innocuous “little fight.” The Neighborhood Talk shared footage of Trump’s commentary.

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“…Virtually nothing and much lesser things, things that take place in the home, they call crime. They’ll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime, see? So now I can’t claim 100 percent. But we are … a safe city,” alleged Trump of D.C.’s reported crimes.

As the offensive comment garnered immediate backlash, a spokeswoman attempted to mitigate his statements.

“President Trump’s Executive Order to address crime in DC even specifically took action against domestic violence,” said spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. “While President Trump is making America safer, the Fake News is whipping up their latest hoax in real time to distract from the Administration’s tremendous results.”

However, advocates and local organizations against domestic violence found the President’s words to be worrisome, especially as they continue to spread awareness on the severity of many cases. Dawn Dalton, executive director of the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the nonprofit receives around 12,000 calls a year from domestic violence victims. Dalton also noted an uptick in the intensity of violence against victims, including homicide.

“The frequency and harm of domestic violence is not paid enough attention to, and remarks such as the president’s underscore that reality,” explained Dalton to The Washington Post.

Trump, however, has seemingly excused domestic violence before in his previous term. In 2018, he brushed off the accusations of his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, who resigned after two of his ex-wives alleged physical and emotional abuse. Trump also faced initial blowback as he entered the political arena with his infamous “grab her by the p–y” comment.

“Instead of being serious about reducing crime by addressing and reducing domestic and intimate partner violence, he is now suggesting we reclassify horrific forms of interpersonal violence as not criminal at all — just as a ‘little fight,’” added Cynthia Miller-Idriss, an American University professor and author of “Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism.” “This takes us back to the Dark Ages.”

As Trump’s surge over D.C. has passed the one-month mark, it could potentially extend until the end of the year.

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