Speaker Johnson Fumbles On Fox News When Confronted About State’s High Crime Rate: It’s Coming Down ‘Gradually’

Fox News anchor Dana Perino asked Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Friday to respond to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) jabbing his state’s crime rate.

Perino first asked the speaker about President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in DC. “Can you get a bill to pass that would provide more funding to continue the National Guard presence in D.C.?” she asked.

“Listen, I’m all for it. I told the president yesterday morning we talked about this, and I said we will give you the resources and the authority necessary to complete this job because it is wildly popular. You see the Democrat mayor of D.C. came out and said, “Thank you for the reinforcements.” We have to bring law and order back. We’re the party, he’s the president to do it, and we’re gonna show that to the people,” Johnson replied.

“Not to give you a Gavin Newsom doubleheader, but he name-dropped you personally yesterday, essentially trying to say that crime is worse in Louisiana than it is in California. Take a listen; we’ll get your thoughts,” followed up co-anchor Bill Melugin.

“If he is to invest in crime suppression, I hope the President of the United States would look at the facts. Just consider Speaker Johnson’s state and district. Just look at murder rate—that’s nearly four times higher than Californians—in Louisiana,” Newsom said in the clip from earlier in the day.

“Again, Gavin Newsom will do anything for attention. He can name-drop me all that he wants. He needs to go and govern his state and not be engaging in all of this. Look, we have crime in cities all across America, and we’re against that everywhere, and we need to bring policies to bear. My hometown of Shreveport has done a great job of reducing crime – gradually,” Johnson replied awkwardly, conceding it’s not coming down quickly. He added:

But we’ve got to address it everywhere that it rears its ugly head. And I think every major city in the country—the residents of those cities—are open to that and anxious to have it, and we’re the party that’s going to bring that forward. I look forward to that in the days ahead.

Notably, U.S. News & World Report ranked Louisiana as the third most dangerous state in the country. “The Bayou state reportedly had a violent crime rate of 548 per 100,000 and a property crime rate of 2,630 per 100,000. Meanwhile, Louisiana came in last place on U.S. News’ 2025 list of best overall states,” noted their rankings.

Watch the clip above via Fox News.