President Donald Trump introduced Monday that he was calling up the Washington, D.C., Nationwide Guard and assuming direct management of town’s police power. Whilst Trump claims to be preventing crime within the nation’s capital, his critics observe that town’s crime price has already fallen considerably. For a lot of, Trump’s transfer is one other distraction from ongoing controversies, such because the Epstein scandal.
Trump pronounces federal takeover of Washington, D.C., ignores falling crime in metropolis
Trump introduced at a Monday White Home press convention that he was assuming direct management of legislation enforcement in Washington, D.C. “That is liberation day in D.C., and we’re gonna take our capital again,” Trump stated from the White Home podium whereas flanked by Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth and Lawyer Common Pam Bondi. Trump stated, “I’m evoking Part 740 of the District of Columbia dwelling rule act, are you aware what that’s, and putting the D.C. Metropolitan Police Division below direct federal management.” Trump additionally introduced, “As well as, I’m deploying the Nationwide Guard to assist reestablish legislation, order and public security in Washington, D.C., they usually’re gonna be allowed to do their job correctly.”
Trump’s claims about legislation and order in Washington, D.C., are being referred to as out by many who observe that crime has dropped considerably within the nation’s capital below the present administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser.
What’s the actuality of crime in D.C. in the meanwhile?
Bowser herself famous that, after a spike in 2023, Washington has skilled a two-year drop in crime. Violent crime within the metropolis has dropped by 26% in 2025 alone, reaching a 30-year low. Trump additionally threatened that he would “take a look at” related federal takeovers of cities, together with New York and Chicago, whereas taking private photographs at Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Trump additionally pointed to his transfer earlier this 12 months to ship Nationwide Guard troops into Los Angeles amid protests towards ICE raids in that metropolis.
Trump referred to as out for skewed priorities, try to distract from scandal
Trump had teased the announcement for days. He indicated that he would possibly make a transfer to intervene in policing in D.C. after 19-year-old former DOGE worker Edward Coristine, often known as “Massive Balls,” was allegedly injured in a carjacking try within the metropolis. Trump additionally indicated on social media over the weekend that he can be clearing folks with out housing from Washington, D.C. “The Homeless have to maneuver out, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump posted, writing that he was going “to make our Capital safer and extra lovely than it ever was earlier than.“ Trump’s priorities have been mocked throughout social media. “When the US Capitol was below assault, Donald J Trump by no means stopped the violent crime in Washington, DC on J6. He pardoned all of them too,” posted X person Benny Broncko, referencing Trump’s lengthy delay in deploying the Nationwide Guard whereas his supporters attacked the Capitol Constructing on Jan. 6, 2021. “When Massive Balls will get assaulted in Washington, DC on A3, Donald J Trump needs to place a cease to violent crime.”
Many are additionally viewing Trump’s try to manufacture a “crime” disaster in Washington, D.C., as one more try to distract from his administration’s scandals, most notably Trump’s connection to convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein and his administration’s refusal to launch recordsdata associated to that case. In response to Trump’s Washington, D.C., announcement, various folks demanded that Trump “launch the Epstein recordsdata,” resulting in that phrase trending on X on Monday afternoon.
If Trump meant for his federal takeover in D.C. to distract from the Epstein case, it appears to be backfiring up to now. Trump additionally seems to be failing in his try to color a “powerful on crime” narrative regarding D.C. and different Democrat-run cities with considerably Black populations, as the information doesn’t match the panic he’s selling. For now, although, it seems that Washington, D.C., will bear the brunt of Trump’s try to push a brand new, extra favorable narrative for himself.
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