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In September 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump called Black children “natural born killers” and “born criminals.”
While Trump did make comments about some people who were “born to be criminals” during a Sept. 2, 2025, briefing — specifically after referring to recent federal actions in Washington, D.C. — he did not explicitly mention Black children or use the phrase “natural born killers,” as social media posts claimed. However, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore suggested the president’s comments were rooted in racism.
In early September 2025, posts claiming U.S. President Donald Trump called Black children “natural born killers” and “born criminals” circulated across social media.
The posts included a video that appeared to show Trump saying, “They’re hardcore. They’re not going to be good. In 10 years, in 20 years, in 2 years, they’re going to be criminals. They were born to be criminals, frankly.”
Facebook users (archived here and here) who shared the video wrote that Trump had “the audacity to call Black children or Brown children natural born killers and born criminals.” The overlaid text on the videos also read, “Calling Black children this. UNACCEPTABLE.”
Similar claims also circulated on Instagram and Threads (archived here and here). Multiple Snopes readers searched our website and emailed us to confirm the veracity of the claim.
While Trump did make comments about people who were “born to be criminals” during a Sept. 2, 2025, briefing — specifically after referring to recent federal actions in Washington, D.C. — he did not explicitly mention Black children or use the phrase “natural born killers,” as social media posts claimed.
The incorrect attribution appears to have originated from a video response to Trump’s comments that Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore posted on social media.
During the Sept. 2 briefing, Trump referred to the possibility of deploying National Guard troops to Chicago and Baltimore. He also referenced his administration’s deployment of troops to Washington, D.C.
Here’s an excerpt of his comments beginning at the 25-minute, 39-second mark, including the portion people included in videos shared on social media (emphasis ours):
And so I’m very proud of Washington. It serves as a template and we’re going to do it elsewhere.
But Chicago is certainly going to be high. I would love to have him call. I would love the governor of Illinois, I’d be honored to take his call. All he has to do is say, “Sir, we need help, it’s out of control.” And everyone knows it is. He’s not kidding anyone. …I would say, “Governor Moore, call,” because I watched him over the weekend trying to explain that Baltimore, what they need is housing.
No, they don’t need housing. They need to get rid of the criminals. These are hardcore criminals. You know, we took many people off the streets of Washington, D.C. They’re hardcore. They’re not going to be good. In 10 years, in 20 years, in two years, they’re going to be criminals. They were born to be criminals, frankly. They were born to be criminals, and they’re tough and mean, and they’ll cut your throat and they won’t even think about it the next day. They won’t even remember that they did it.
The White House seemingly denied the claim that Trump referred to Black children as “natural born killers” in an email to Snopes. In response to our inquiry, a spokesperson said, “Please send me the quote where the President says this.”
Gov. Moore suggests comments were rooted in racism
Though Trump did not explicitly mention Black children in his comments, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore condemned the president’s comments and suggested they were rooted in racism.
When the president from the Oval Office calls you “natural born killers,” children who were born to be violent, I say this: I respect the office, but I will never honor ignorance.
To our children, you are loved and you’re needed. To our children, we believe in you and we invest in you. To our children, we love you and we are going to honor every God-honored potential that you have. To our children, there’s nothing we won’t do to keep you safe. To our children, we love you and we are going to make sure that you are never bullied. And I don’t care what position they hold.
Because I want to be clear: if I listened, when I was coming up, if I listened to the tropes and to the trolls, if I listened to the haters and the heartless, if I listened to the Archie Bunker mindset and the dog whistling, if I spent my time focusing on those people who did not love me instead of focusing on those people who do, I would never be the 63rd governor of the state of Maryland and the only black governor in the United States of America.
While Moore did not explicitly mention Black children in his video, the footage featured shots of Black children and other community members as he delivered his remarks. He also referenced Archie Bunker, a character from the sitcom “All in the Family” who is widely recognized for his racist views.
In sum …
Trump did not call Black children “natural born killers” or “born criminals.” Instead, he spoke about “hardcore” criminals who were “taken off the streets” in Washington, D.C., adding that these people were “born to be criminals.” He did not explicitly mention Black children or use the phrase “natural born killers.”
The “natural born killers” language came from remarks that Moore made condemning Trump’s comments and suggesting they were rooted in racism.
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Megan Loe
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