Trump Considers Reopening ‘Insane Asylums’ in Crusade Against Crime

Tom DuranteSep 1st, 2025, 12:42 pm

(Mark Schiefelbein/AP photo)

President Donald Trump says he would consider reopening insane asylums as he expands his anti-crime crackdown.

Trump made the suggestion in a Daily Caller interview with reporter Reagan Reese that dropped Monday.

When Reese floated the possibility of the federal government reopening insane asylums for those with “serious mental illness,” Trump admitted he was open to it.

“Would you be open to the government reopening insane asylums for people with serious mental illness?” Reese asked.

“Yeah I would,” Trump replied.

“Well, they used to have them, and you never saw people like we had, you know, they used to have them,” he added. “And what happened is states like New York and California that had them, New York had a lot of them. They released them all into society because they couldn’t afford it. You know, it’s massively expensive.”

He added, “But we had, they were all over New York. I remember when I was growing up, Creedmoor. They had a place, Creedmoor, they had a lot of them, Bellevue, and they were closed by a certain governor. And I remember when they did, it was a long time ago, and I said they didn’t release these people? And they did. They released them into society, and that’s what you have. It’s a rough, it’s a rough situation.”

Of course, both New York and California still have extensive networks of psychiatric hospitals, and patients held under court orders were remanded to other facilities, as asylums were shuttered. Many asylums, Bellevue included, became infamous for their poor conditions and treatment of patients, which led to most being shut down.

Earlier this month, Trump demanded that the homeless leave their encampments “IMMEDIATELY” in a Truth Social Post that preceded the federal takeover of D.C.’s Metro Police Department and deployment of the National Guard in the district.