“During his campaign for president, Donald Trump’s talking points on crime and punishment harkened back to an era of ‘tough on crime’ campaign rhetoric that fueled the stump speeches of candidates like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
“Trump declared himself the ‘law and order’ candidate and rang an alarm about a purported growing crime wave and chaotic inner cities. What he ignored was a two-decade drop in crime rates, along with the societal trauma caused by record-level incarceration and the disproportionate burden of criminalization on communities of color.”