Local TV Anchor Catches Trump Off Guard With A Simple Question

Donald Trump leaned into his anti-immigrant rhetoric when he made a claim about immigration from Venezuela to America. But the former president then struggled to back up his assertion when quizzed on the source of his statistic.

Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, ended an interview with Fox 2 Detroit anchor Roop Raj by saying: One stat before we go. Venezuela was very crime-ridden. They announced the other day 72% reduction in crime in the last year. You know why? They moved all their criminals from Venezuela right into the good old U.S.A. and [President Joe] Biden let them do it. Its a disgrace.

Raj asked Trump, But sir, where are those numbers coming from?

Trump floundered in response: Uhhh, I guess I get them from the papers in this case. I think its a federal statement or, well, theyre coming actually from Venezuela. Theyre coming from Venezuela.

Well have to check on that, said Raj, whose full interview with Trump will air Thursday.

FOX 2's Roop Raj one-on-one with former president Trump. Abortion, immigration, states-rights...a wide-ranging \"nothing off-limits\" interview Thursday on FOX 2. pic.twitter.com/uKIbgjm1oc

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FOX 2's Roop Raj one-on-one with former president Trump. Abortion, immigration, states-rights...a wide-ranging "nothing off-limits" interview Thursday on FOX 2. pic.twitter.com/uKIbgjm1oc
FOX 2 Detroit (@FOX2News) April 30, 2024

Trump has made a similar claim about the effect that Venezuelan immigration to the U.S. is having on its own national crime stats before but with a different number.

Crime is down in Venezuela by 67% because theyre taking their gangs and their criminals and depositing them very nicely into the United States, he told supporters at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 2.

PolitiFact , the nonprofit political fact-checking site, described that instance of Trumps spin as exaggerated .

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Crime is down in Venezuela, it noted, but not by the massive percentage that Trump claims. As official figures are hard to come by, it could be by around 20% to 30%. The website also cited local sources saying its down because of varying factors including the economy and the consolidation of organized crime and not, as Trump tells it, the emptying of its prisons into America.