During a visit to North Carolina in September, President Donald Trump said the state is full of “blood-soaked killing fields.”
“Nobody used to think of North Carolina as a dangerous state, criminally dangerous,” Trump said during a rally in Gastonia. “It was beautiful, it was apple pie, right?”
Trump blamed Roy Cooper, a Democrat who served as governor from 2017 to 2025 and is now running for U.S. Senate. He faces Michael Whatley, former chair of the Republican National Committee, in the race.
But critics pushed back against Trump’s depiction of the Tar Heel state, pointing to recent drops in reported crime.
North Carolina saw a 7.4% drop in reported crimes in 2025 compared to 2019, the first year tracked by the state’s Criminal Justice Analysis Center.
Like much of the nation, the state experienced a major jump in homicides in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered businesses and the country reeled from the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The number of reported homicides in North Carolina has since dropped significantly, from 912 in 2021 to 669 in 2025.
So what about the Border Belt counties, which have historically recorded some of the highest crime rates in the state?
Bladen, Columbus, and Scotland counties saw more significant drops in reported crimes in 2025 compared to 2019—44%, 36%, and 13%, respectively. Robeson County, which is significantly larger than the other three counties, saw a drop of nearly 7%.
All but Scotland County saw a drop in violent crimes, including assaults and homicides. All saw decreases in reported property crimes, including larcenies.