Donald Trump Evokes The Purge After Saying ‘One Really Violent Day’ of Policing Would End Crime

During a rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, the former president suggested that “extraordinarily rough” police enforcement would “immediately” stop crime in America.

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Former President Donald Trump suggested that “one real rough, nasty” and “violent” day could effectively end crime.

While speaking at a rally in Erie, Pa., on Sunday, Trump, 78, expressed concern over crime in the United States, which he claimed is “at a level we’ve never seen.”

“It’s rampant. It’s rising,” Trump said, adding, “We have to let police do their job, [even] if they have to be extraordinarily rough.”

In 2023, America saw one of its lowest violent crime rates in 50 years, though shoplifting rates have been on the rise in 2024.

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Discussing thefts from drug stores, where he claimed people are stealing “air conditioners” and carrying out “refrigerators on their back,” Trump proposed that his solution would require just one day.

“If you had one day, like one real, rough, nasty day … If you had one really violent day,” he stated regarding police action to eliminate crime. “One rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word will get out and it will end immediately, you know? It will end immediately.”

Shortly after Trump’s comments, “The Purge” began trending on X, as people drew comparisons to the plot of the horror film series in which all crime is legal for one night each year.

“The way he watched The Purge and sat there like you know what… we should try this,” one X user said. “He’s just describing the premise of The Purge,” another added.

This isn’t the first time the former president’s comments have been compared to The Purge. In 2016, shortly before Trump was elected, the third film in the franchise, The Purge: Election Year, was released. The film’s tagline, “Keep America Great,” echoed Trump’s campaign slogan and the commercials drew parallels to his advertisements, featuring the line, “I purge to keep my country great.”

When asked about Trump’s comments, a campaign official said he was “clearly just floating in jest,” per Politico. Steven Cheung, the campaign’s communications director, added in a statement, “President Trump has always been the law and order President and he continues to reiterate the importance of enforcing existing laws.”