Donald Trump has once again used his presidential powers in bad faith to exhibit a meaningless show of force so that he can appear to be strong to a country of citizens who know he’s as weak as seven days.
The Orange Man announced that he will be deploying the National Guard, 800 troops to be exact, in Washington, D.C., to commandeer the local police department in an effort to curb what he calls a “public safety emergency” of crime and homelessness. Prior to this, hundreds of federal police officers were assigned to supplant D.C. Metro Police over the weekend. Trump held a clout-chasing press conference where he bloviated about his tough-on-crime stance.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse,”
“This is liberation day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back,”
Trump continued by saying that America’s capitol city has been “taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals” and “drugged-out maniacs and homeless people”. However, the stats don’t bear out any of Trump’s trumped-up allegations about crime in the area. According to the New York Times, the Metropolitan Police Department’s research shows that violent crime dropped 35% from 2023 to 2024. Facts have never been a friend to Trump, and D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser is speaking out against the political stunt.
“I can’t say that given some of the rhetoric of the past that we are totally surprised,” Bowser said.
Additionally, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is also blasting Trump for attempting to paint the (largely Black) cities as criminal hellholes.
Mayor Scott also took to X to make clear that Trump is spreading dangerous propaganda from the most powerful office in the world.
Scott is not oblivious to the fact that Baltimore has dealt with challenges surrounding violence but also acknowledges that his tenure in office has shown great strides in curbing crime.
Via CBS News:
“Baltimore has 84 homicides, which is one too many for me, but it’s still the lowest number we’ve had at this point of the year on record,” he said.
Much like the militarization of Los Angeles, in addition to the show of force, Trump appears to be purposely agitating the public in hopes of protests and civil unrest. Deploying the National Guard is as much about baiting bad behavior as it is the political pornography of ego stroking. Don’t take the bait.
