Donald Trump has seemingly suggested that reenacting The Purge will decrease levels of criminal activity.
The disgraced former president and convicted felon proposed allowing the police “one rough hour” would lower crime; the suggestion has been mocked for its resemblance to the concept behind horror movie franchise The Purge.
At a rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday (29 September) in the lead-up to the November election, the Republican nominee outlined that The Purge method, an hour of fewer restraints, would help tackle criminal activity.
He said: “One rough hour and I mean real rough, the word will get out and it will end immediately.”
“He’s just describing the premise of The Purge,” left-wing account The Lincoln Project shared regarding a clip of Trump’s remarks.
The suggestion mirrors The Purge, in which all crime becomes legal for 12 hours annually. However, Trump’s version would allow the police, rather than the public, the right to act however they want to, consequence-free.
Another user wrote: “The Purge: Election Year came out in 2016. Trump stole its motto in 2020 and its plot in 2024.”
The Purge has had numerous sequels and the third instalment was released in 2016, the same year that Trump was elected as president, titled The Purge: Election Year.
The film’s tagline, “Keep America Great”, garnered increased media attention when Trump used the slogan for his 2020 re-election campaign.
Furthermore, Trump’s claim that the crime rates are skyrocketing is factually inaccurate. According to FBI reports, murder, other kinds of reported violent crime and reported property crime all dropped in 2023; this continues the continued trend downward following the pandemic-era crime spike.
Despite this, Trump and other far-right voices have claimed that crime rates have risen.
What is The Purge?
The Purge is an American anthology media franchise comprised of five dystopian action horror films and a TV series.
These include The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy, The First Purge, The Forever Purge, as well as a sixth untitled Purge film that has been in the works since 2021.
Created by James DeMonaco, the films explore a ‘crime-free’ America in the near future which is underscored by an annual dystopian event named (you guessed it) the Purge.
What happens during The Purge?
The first Purge film sets up the premise of The Purge; in 2014, a political party arises called the New Founding Fathers of America
In a period of economic collapse, the party passed a law which sanctions ‘The Purge’.
This is an annual event where for 12 hours all criminal activity (including murder, theft, rape, etc.) is legal.
By 2022, the US is said to have become virtually crime-free and legal unemployment rates are at 1%.
Does The Purge have any basis in reality?
DeMonaco, the Purge creator, is said to have had no real-life inspiration for the plot of the films.
Instead, he was inspired by the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series episode, The Return of the Archons which explored a similar premise.
However, others have claimed that The Purge holds similarities to the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia.
The one-day event was organised around the honouring of Saturn, the Roman god of farming and the harvest, but eventually turned into a five day free-for-all of binge drinking, feasting and a partial reversal of normal social order – for example, enslaved people were allowed to participate in the festivities, and in some cases, they were served by their masters.
Though this is compelling, DeMonaco has never acknowledged Saturnalia as an inspiration.
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