🌆 Chicago First, Then Newsom’s California Fume
While D.C. is already seeing results, other cities are bracing. Chicago is next in line, and Mayor Brandon Johnson isn’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat. He called federal help “uncalled for and unsound,” even as his office touts a 33% drop in homicides and a 38% drop in shootings during the first half of 2025.
But who’s responsible for those numbers—and are they telling the full story?
The Johnson administration credits community violence intervention, youth employment programs, and mental health expansion. Yet critics point out that property crime remains high, and the city’s own dashboard shows spikes in robbery and carjackings in certain zones. FBI data confirms Chicago’s violent crime rate is lower than some major cities, but still far from low.
🌁 Newsom’s Numbers vs. Newsom’s Narrative
Governor Gavin Newsom has been busy online, comparing California’s crime stats to red-state cities like Houston and Dallas. His press office recently posted that San Francisco hit its lowest murder rate in 60 years—just 35 homicides in 2024 compared to Houston’s 322. He’s also claimed that California’s overall homicide rate dropped nearly 12% in 2024, making it the second-lowest since 1966.
But here’s the catch:
The “spike in homicides” Newsom references isn’t current—it’s a throwback to Trump’s first term, when violent crime rose nationwide. Newsom uses that historical uptick to frame Trump’s policies as dangerous, while touting California’s recent decline as proof of progressive success.
Critics aren’t buying it.
They argue that Newsom’s constant trolling of Republican governors and Trump himself feels more like political theater than leadership. While California’s numbers have improved in some areas, arson and reported rapes rose in 2024, and cities like Oakland still struggle with repeat offenders and court backlogs. Many Californians say it’s time Newsom stopped the anti-Trump performance art and focused on the state he was elected to run.
🧭 Closing Reflection: What Leadership Isn’t
Maybe it’s time these cities stop defending dysfunction and start rethinking what safety actually looks like. Because negligence is the oil in the salad dressing—it binds with pride, ego, and a thick layer of political theater that’s dressed up as compassion but rarely delivers results.
Real reform isn’t about optics. It’s about outcomes. And outcomes require courage, clarity, and the willingness to say: “This isn’t working. Let’s fix it.”
