Trump conveniently *discovers* he actually does control the DC National Guard

Trump’s Federal Takeover of D.C. Isn’t About Safety — It’s About Power

Today, President Trump took the extraordinary step of seizing control of Washington, D.C.’s police department and deploying the D.C. National Guard onto city streets. He claimed this was necessary to “protect” the city — but the facts tell a different story.

Let’s start with the hypocrisy: On January 6th, Trump argued he couldn’t call up the Guard because it was the D.C. Mayor’s, or Nancy Pelosi’s, or anyone else’s responsibility. Now, he’s suddenly discovered broad powers under the Home Rule Act to override the Mayor, the City Council, and police leadership — all of whom opposed this move.

This is a manufactured crisis. Crime in D.C. is down — violent crime has dropped 26% and homicides are down 12% compared to last year. Yes, during and after the pandemic, D.C. faced serious crime problems, and yes, local leaders still need to focus on enforcement and crime. But the picture now is far better than it was two years ago. There is no public safety emergency.

What’s really happening?

Trump is creating a made-for-TV confrontation — like we saw earlier this summer in Los Angeles — to distract from two major political problems:

The never-going-to-die Epstein files saga, and his personal involvement and close friendship with the serial predator, and

Rising prices and the cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by his own tariffs.

https://www.brightamerica.org/p/trump-conveniently-discovers-he-actually