President Donald Trump blamed former Democratic Governor and current Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper for surging crime in North Carolina during a campaign-related stop for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley on Wednesday, saying the Tar Heel State has become "one of the most violent and one of the worst in the whole nation," which Cooper's campaign spokesperson told Newsweek was "false." “Independent fact-checkers have called these attacks false – Michael Whatley is getting desperate and it’s shameful that he’s using heinous crimes to try to deceive North Carolinians," the spokesperson said, in part. North Carolina was the backdrop of Trump's latest crime messaging during his rally in the battleground state. Midterm elections are commonly viewed as a test of the political environment facing the party in power, and the president's party has historically lost seats during midterm elections.
Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in both the House and Senate. The midterm is viewed as consequential for both Democrats and Republicans, as the GOP hopes to maintain power and build on key legislative policies and the Democrats hope to take control back. The race between Cooper and Whatley is rated lean Democrat by Cook Political Report and recent polling shows Cooper ahead.
Available crime data paints a more nuanced picture than Trump painted. According to the FBI's Crime Data Explorer, North Carolina has recorded 24,686 aggravated assault offenses between September 2025 and September 2026. While that places the state among those with higher numbers of reported violent crimes, raw counts largely highlight North Carolina as one of the country's more populated states.
Other states, including Florida and Michigan, have higher offense totals, data observed by Newsweek shows. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation also reported that violent crime declined statewide in 2024 year over year, with decreases in murder, aggravated assault and robbery rates. The trend aligns with national findings that show violent crime is falling in the United States, even as public concern about crime remains a notable political and campaign issue.
According to the FBI, the national violent crime rate has dropped 9 percent from June 2025 to May 2026, with the murder rate dropping 18.7 percent, the robbery rate now at -19.4 percent, the rape rate at -10 percent and the aggravated assault rate at -6.2 percent. Newsweek reached out to Whatley's campaign via email on Wednesday night for comment. Trump leaned into crime during his speech, highlighting the death of Iryna Zarutska on a train in the state last year.
"The animal who murdered Iryna Zarutska should never have been on your streets; after 14 arrests he should have been locked up for many, many years," Trump said. "That monster and countless others were set loose to prey on the people of North Carolina...I mean, I know North Carolina so well, so much crime here," Trump added. "I mean it's on the national news...it's your governors, but it's Cooper.
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