President Trump Targeted London's Knife Crime at the NRA — But London's Murder Rate Is Lower Than Every Big U.S. City's
President Donald Trump told the NRA convention on Friday that knife crime in London has gotten so bar, one hospital was like “war zone.” But the doctor who may have inspired that comment says the President missed the point entirely.
FBI crime data also shows London had a lower murder rate than every major American city in 2017 – in most cases, far lower.
Dr. Martin Griffiths, a trauma surgeon at London’s Barts Health NHS Trust, in April said colleagues who had served in the military likened the hospital’s daily case load — including an influx of children who were victims of violent crime — to that seen at Camp Bastion Hospital, in Afghanistan.
Trump appeared to repurpose that comment while speaking to 8,000 NRA members in Dallas on Friday, referring to the prevalence of knife violence in the U.K., despite the nation’s strict gun laws. Most guns were banned there in 1997.
“They don’t have guns. They have knives and instead there’s blood all over the floors of this hospital,” Trump said. “They say it’s as bad as a military war zone hospital … knives, knives, knives. London hasn’t been used to that. They’re getting used to that. It’s pretty tough.”
Shortly after Trump’s speech, Griffiths tweeted his disapproval. “Happy to invite Mr Trump to my (prestigious) hospital to meet with our mayor and police commissioner to discuss our successes in violence reduction in London,” he wrote.
