As Democrats try to defend cities from Trump, have they learned their lesson on crime?

WASHINGTON – Talking about crime has long been an Achilles heel for Democrats, and they’ve continued to struggle with the issue at the national level during Donald Trump's second term, even as data shows violence decreasing in major U.S. cities.

But changing the public's perception about crime will be imperative for the party going into the 2026 midterm elections and beyond, as Trump deploys the National Guard in cities such as Los Angeles, and most recently, Washington, D.C.

Places like Baltimore and Chicago could be next, the president hinted. The mayors of those cities say they're ready to fight back by showing, rather than telling, how their cities have lowered crime.

“We are the ones that are closest to the people," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told USA TODAY. "We're the ones that's proven with the results, and we're the ones that know how to communicate in a way that people understand."

More: National Guard in DC could carry weapons and detain people, Army says