This morning, like many others, I opened my social media feed and was hit with a wave of disbelief and fury.
Donald Trump, speaking overnight at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., made comments that downplayed domestic violence in a way that was not only ignorant but deeply dangerous.
He claimed that crime in D.C. was “virtually nothing”, except for “much lesser things, things that take place in the home they call crime.” He went on to say, “If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say, ‘This was a crime. See?’”
Trump delivered these remarks on September 8, 2025, during a speech to the White House Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. The audience included commission members, religious leaders, and political allies. The commission, chaired by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and vice-chaired by Ben Carson, was established earlier in 2025 as part of Trump’s faith initiative.
I shouldn’t be surprised anymore. Trump has a long history of inflammatory, dismissive, and harmful remarks. But this one hit differently. It hit hard. Because I know women, friends and colleagues, who have survived domestic violence. And I know women who didn’t. I know women who nearly died before anyone believed them and some that still receive abusive messages years after leaving their partner. These are not “little fights.” These are acts of violence. They are crimes.
Let me tell you what these “lesser things” look like:
– A woman whose partner takes her phone and keys so she can’t leave.
– A mother who is gaslit daily into believing she’s the problem.
– A survivor who is financially controlled, unable to access her own money.
– A woman who is punched in the face and told it’s her fault.
In Australia, 48 women and 16 children have died from domestic and family violence in 2025 alone. Up to 2.3 million Australian women report experiencing emotional abuse since the age of 15, and 17% have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a cohabiting partner.
In the United States, approximately 10 million people experience domestic violence annually. That’s 24 people every minute. Over 41% of women have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
When Donald Trump stood before a church audience and dismissed domestic violence as “lesser things” suggesting that a “little fight with the wife” is being unfairly labelled a crime, I thought of Louise Hunt, a marketing professional and domestic violence advocate, allegedly murdered by her husband who then set their home on fire with her children inside.
I thought of Claire Austin, who died from catastrophic injuries after an alleged altercation with her former partner.
I thought of Thi Kim Tran, abducted at gunpoint, stripped, and burned alive in a car while her eight-year-old son was beaten with a baseball bat.
And I thought of the unnamed mother-of-four from Western Australia, beaten to death by her partner who was already breaching a domestic violence order.
These are not “lesser things.” These are brutal, deliberate acts of violence. Yes, the women mentioned Louise Hunt, Claire Austin, Thi Kim Tran, and the unnamed mother-of-four from Western Australia, were all killed in 2025 in incidents linked to domestic or gendered violence.
When a president and ‘leader’ trivialises such horrors, it sends a chilling message that women’s lives are negotiable, that abuse is excusable, and that society should look the other way. We are at a crossroads. Either we confront the epidemic of gendered violence with urgency and truth, or we allow dangerous rhetoric to drag us back to a time when women were expected to suffer in silence. The choice we make now will define the kind of society we become.
Trump’s comments are not just offensive. They are a threat to progress. They are a slap in the face to every survivor who has fought to be heard, believed, and protected. We cannot afford to go backwards.
We, as women and yes, I say women because the statistics tell us this violence is gendered, know the difference between a disagreement over who is going to do the dishes after dinner and a pattern of abuse. We know what it feels like to be afraid in our own homes. We know the courage it takes to leave, and the strength it takes to survive. We will not be silenced. We will not let dangerous rhetoric drag us back to a time when domestic violence was ignored, hidden, or excused.
We will speak up, we will demand better, and we will continue to fight for a world where every woman and child is safe in their home, in their relationships and in their lives.
That should be the bare minimum and non-negotiable. Because domestic violence is not a “lesser thing.” It is a crime. And it must be treated as such.