President Trump this summer has railed against American cities he says are beset by crime and disorder.
Los Angeles: “Lawless.”
Chicago: “A killing field.”
Baltimore: “A hell hole.”
Washington: “Out of control.”
But Beverly Hills?
As the president this week threatened to send National Guard and other troops to more American cities, he has some choice words about the wealthy enclave where he once owned a home. During an Oval Office talk in which he defended troop deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, the conversation suddenly turned to Beverly Hills.
Trump called the city “a great place” but noted he has friends who leave the trunk and doors of their cars open because they know they’re going to be vandalized and don’t want to risk getting the windows or other parts of their vehicles damaged.
“They don’t want the trunk ripped off in order for them to steal what’s in there, in the back,” he said.
The president also said another friend of his leaves his garage door open, “so that people can just walk into his garage and take whatever they want and leave.”
In a city that prides itself on its opulent image, the comments took officials by surprise.
Responding to a question about Trump’s comments, a city spokesperson told The Times in a statement that Beverly Hills is not aware of residents intentionally leaving their vehicles unlocked to prevent vandalism.
Reported cases of stolen items (that amounted to less than a $950 loss) from a vehicle within the city has steadily increased, according to Beverly Hills Police Department data. In 2022 there was a total of 324 theft reports, an estimated 386 in 2023, in 2024 there were 472.
Police data show overall crime in the city rose in 2022 and 2023 but fell in 2024.
In recent years, Beverly Hills police have been most focused on retail crime in the luxury-good corridor of Rodeo Drive, not car thefts. After a series of high-profile incidents — including the armed robbery of a diner’s $500,000 watch at a local restaurant — the city beefed up patrols and security details. Officials also started a drone surveillance program. The department has also faced allegations — which it denies — of targeting Black shoppers.
This isn’t the first time the president has made this claim about the city. At the Republican convention in Orange County two years ago, Trump made the same remarks without attributing the information to any source, ABC News reported.
Still some strolling Rodeo Drive this week were taken aback by the president’s comments.
Ian Campbell, a Rodeo Drive regular in a yellow-tinted pair of Louis Vuitton shades and leather designer bag, said Beverly Hills isn’t and has never been a place known for crime.
“I’m here all the time, and it’s always been safe and mostly calm,” Campbell said. “Nothing has changed recently…. I’ve never felt unsafe here.”
Jason Trucco, a former resident of Beverly Hills who now lives in New York on the Lower East Side, said he believed Beverly Hills was still relatively safe compared with other places where he stayed.
“I lived in a lot of more dangerous neighborhoods than this,” Trucco said.
The president’s remarks were about public safety, said Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County.
“Which is the No. 1 job of government, and when our local leaders can’t get it right then I understand Trump’s need to speak up and take action on this very important topic,” Hoge said.
There are people, she said, who live in Los Angeles County who know which are the “no-go” zones and which are safe. Beverly Hills, however, is not in the “no-go” zones, Hoge said.
The president of the West Hollywood-Beverly Hills Democratic Club, Noah Margo, chalked up Trump’s remarks to “publicity stunts that are used to divide us.”
“As far as their validity, I can’t speak for every resident of Beverly Hills, but I would venture to say that most of us keep our vehicles locked,” Margo said.
So why did Trump bring up secondhand accounts of crime in Beverly Hills?
“Using our name tends to reach more people than most other cities might,” Margo said. “Although I find it ironic that he picked one of the least crime-affected cities in Los Angeles County.”
Some residents will agree with Trump, and others may find the president’s remarks insulting, Margo said.
“What should concern most people is why the National Guard would need to be involved with people breaking into cars,” he said. “I don’t think that falls under the jurisdiction of any of our military branches.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
