Trump Embraces Tough-On-Crime Mantra Amid DC Takeover as He and Democrats Claim Political Wins

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 14: Members of the National Guard stand by at Union Station on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump is proudly promoting the work of roughly 2,000 National Guard troops in Washington to confront what the Republican president describes as an out-of-control crime wave in the Democratic-run city. Trump and his allies are confident that his decision to dispatch soldiers to a key American city with no clear crisis is a big political winner. Democrats say this is a fight they’re eager to have. One Democratic strategist says it’s “an opportunity for the party to go on offense on an issue that has plagued us for a long time.” Trump’s power grab could be a factor for both sides in elections in Virginia and New Jersey this fall — and next year’s midterms.

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