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Rude, but Right

Trump’s reaction to crime is spot on.

/ Politics and Law, States and Cities, Public Safety

/ Newsletter / Politics and Law, States and Cities, Public Safety

January 20, 2026

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Good morning,

Today, we’re looking at President Trump’s response to crime and the potential ramifications of universal child care in New York City.

Write to us at editors@city-journal.org.

Now, on to the news…

Rude but Right on Crime

A young Ukrainian woman stabbed to death in Charlotte. A former DOGE staffer beaten by juvenile carjackers in D.C. A woman set on fire by a vagrant in Chicago. Soon after news of each of these violent crimes broke, President Trump took to social media to comment.

Crimes like these were bound to garner headlines but not, until recently, presidential attention, notes Heather Mac Donald. “Never before has a president commented with such urgency on particular acts of crime that otherwise lack conventional political significance,” she writes, adding that Trump’s second administration thus far has been light on “legislative proposals” or the “sober crime commissions favored by previous presidents.”

“It does not matter. This lack of proposed lawmaking is less important than Trump’s inclination to lay down a philosophical marker: violence is not normal and should not be tolerated.”

Read her essay here.

Universal Childcare Could Hurt New York’s Kids

Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently announced a free childcare plan for all kids in New York City under age 5. This shouldn’t be welcome news, Jennifer Weber argues. Other nations have moved ahead with universal childcare programs, and evidence shows they often leave children worse off.

“Young children need time, stability, and one-on-one interaction,” she explains. “Because staff-to-child ratios and supervision are key to program success, childcare doesn’t scale well. When programs expand quickly, they stretch their existing resources by hiring faster, reducing training, and relying on less experienced staff.”

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/ Reader Spotlight

“Thanks for reporting on this case. I’m sure defenders of this indoctrination will wave away all criticisms with ‘they just don’t want to learn why slavery was wrong’ or something like that.”

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SamHamilton, commenting on Henderson v. Springfield R-12 School District

Photo credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

A quarterly magazine of urban affairs, published by the Manhattan Institute, edited by Brian C. Anderson.

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