Trump decries smash-and-grab robberies

Former President Trump on Tuesday decried the spike in smash-and-grab robberies that have taken place across the country, calling on Democrats to take action to “immediately” stop the crimes.

“If Democrats don’t immediately stop smash-and-grab robberies, which are taking place in their cities, the National Guard must be called out. There has never been such a thing that has happened in our Country,” Trump said in a statement.

“Large numbers of stores are leaving San Francisco and other cities. Some chains are closing most of their stores, it is all not even believable,” he added.

The former president’s comments come as a number of cities throughout the nation are seeing a spike in smash-and-grab robberies, which were especially prevalent on Black Friday.

Los Angeles Police Department reported a string of robberies in the city Friday evening, while a group of between 20 and 30 people stole electronics and other products from a Best Buy in Burnsville, Minn., on Friday.

Early Thursday morning and early Friday morning, a Canada Goose store, a Foot Locker store, a North Face store and a cellphone store in Chicago were all the scenes of smash-and-grab robberies.

Trump championed a tough-on-crime approach during his time in office and on the campaign trail. During the 2020 campaign, he blamed Democratic mayors for riots that broke out in some cities during racial justice protests following the police murder of George Floyd. 

The former president repeatedly tweeted “LAW & ORDER” at the time, threatened to deploy federal law enforcement personnel to quell the riots, and also made defending the police a central part of his reelection campaign amid calls from the left to “defund” the police.