President Donald J. Trump reportedly announced on Monday that his administration is assuming direct federal control over the Washington, D.C., police department and deploying 800 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital, a move he framed as a decisive strike against crime and disorder in the city.
“This is Liberation Day in D.C.,” Trump declared from the White House briefing room, flanked by members of his Cabinet. “We are rescuing our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor, and worse.”
The announcement marks a rare federal takeover of a local law enforcement agency, and Trump signaled the initiative could soon expand to other American cities. Pointing to New York, a city that has recently experienced violent crime rates far below the historic peaks of the late 20th century but has still faced troubling incidents, the president said, “Then I’m going to look at New York, in a little while. Let’s do this. Let’s do this together.”
Trump also identified Chicago as a likely candidate for similar intervention, lambasting its Democratic leadership in pointed terms. “If we need to, we’re gonna do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster,” he said. “We have a mayor there who is totally incompetent. He’s an incompetent man. And we have an incompetent governor there. Pritzker’s an incompetent. His family threw him out of the business. And he ran for governor. And now I understand he wants to be president. But I noticed he lost a little weight so now he has a chance.”
The president’s remarks on Chicago reflect a long-running conservative critique of the city’s approach to law enforcement, often portrayed as hamstrung by progressive policies and leadership unwilling to fully confront violent crime.
Trump’s sharp rebuke of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, underscored his disdain for Democratic officials he sees as more focused on political ambition than public safety.
Trump also hinted at possible action in Los Angeles, pivoting briefly to discuss recent wildfires before pointedly adding, “Hopefully LA is watching.”
While crime in Washington remains elevated compared with many other major cities, it has fallen from the pandemic-era surge and is far below the historic highs of the 1980s and 1990s.
The president nonetheless emphasized the importance of swift and forceful action to prevent further decline in public safety, portraying his intervention as a patriotic duty.
“This is about restoring order, about protecting law-abiding citizens,” Trump’s message suggested, in line with his broader “law and order” approach to governance. By considering the deployment of federal forces to multiple urban centers, the president is signaling his willingness to override local control when he deems it necessary to safeguard communities.
As Trump put it, the decision is rooted in a belief that leadership at the federal level must act where local authorities have failed: “Let’s do this. Let’s do this together.”
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