Bill Maher offered a surprising endorsement of President Donald Trump’s crime record on Friday, telling his HBO audience that Trump’s tough-on-crime persona has likely played a role in falling violent crime rates across the country. The comments came during an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher and drew attention for their unusually generous tone toward a president Maher often criticizes.
“It’s not just drug crime that’s way down, it’s all crime,” Maher told viewers, while also crediting surveillance technology and Democratic social spending as contributing factors. He said it would be “childish” to deny that Trump’s approach has had some effect.
So, Trump was right all along. At least Bill Maher has the guts to admit it.
Maher’s Blunt Assessment of Trump’s Effect on Crime
Maher was careful to share credit across party lines, saying Democratic policies also deserve recognition. “It’s also because when Democrats expand the safety net, there are less desperate people,” he said. “And because Trump is a bad a, .”
pic.twitter.com/rzbzIB4mIy Even Bill Maher admits denying Trump’s tough-on-crime results is childish. Fact: Violent crime spiked under recent liberal policies, while Trump's aggressive approach gets results. Trump is a badass! #Trump #LawAndOrder #BillMaher #Conservative
— Underboss (@Underboss111) September 26, 2026
He acknowledged disagreeing with many of Trump’s methods while refusing to dismiss the results. “Is doing it this way the right thing? No. But it’s just childish to pretend that when you elect a f, -around-and-find-out president, a no-more-Mr.-Nice-Guy, boot-in-your-a, , ‘V for Vendetta,’ kick-a, and take names, say-hello-to-my-little-friend president, that’s not going to have some effect on crime,” Maher said. He closed the segment with a pointed observation: “He has UFC fights on the lawn. I think the bad guys got the message.”
The remarks align with Trump violent crime drop data showing reported violent crime nationwide fell 9% from June 2025 through May 2026, according to the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer. Robbery saw the steepest decline at 19.4%, followed by murder at 18.7%, rape at 10%, and aggravated assault at 6.2%.
FBI Veteran and White House Point to Bipartisan Common Ground
Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack told Fox News Digital that the numbers open the door for agreement across political lines. “You don’t have to wear somebody’s campaign button to admit when something appears to be working. That’s probably why you’re hearing even some of the president’s critics acknowledge what they’re seeing on crime,” Pack said.
Pack emphasized that fighting crime requires cooperation among local, state, and federal law enforcement. “People can and do disagree about politics. That’s nothing new. But most folks want the same things when they get home at the end of the day,” he said. “We may never get all the way back to the days when people left the front door unlocked, but folks ought to be able to feel secure in their own neighborhood and know violent offenders are being taken off the street. That’s not red or blue. It seems to me that’s red, white and blue.”
What Comes Next for the Crime Debate
The White House quickly highlighted the FBI figures, with a spokesperson saying: “President Trump promised to make America safe again and the data proves he has done just that. He has delivered the largest decrease in violent crime in American history.” The administration framed the numbers as a direct contrast to what it called “Defund-the-Police Democrats.”
With FBI officials set to tout what they describe as the largest year-to-year violent crime drop in U.S. history, the political debate over who deserves credit is expected to intensify. Maher’s willingness to acknowledge Trump’s role may signal that the issue is becoming harder for critics to dismiss, even as questions remain about surveillance, policing methods, and the limits of federal influence on local crime trends.
