Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) probably shocked the Democratic Party, many black leaders, and even the administration of President Donald Trump when she acknowledged on Wednesday that National Guard units and immigration agents are actually reducing crime in America’s capital.
"We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD [Metropolitan Police Department] has been able to do in this city," Bowser told reporters about the cooperation between federal security and the Metropolitan Police Department.
However, despite acknowledging that Trump is achieving his objective of combating lawlessness, Bowser, perhaps in deference to a Democratic leadership that opposes any plan proposed by Trump, stated that the arrangement is “not working.”
How is it not working if crime is down? Isn’t that how it is supposed to work? Bowser even cited statistics that showed how carjackings—generally part of life as usual in DC—are down by 87 percent. That can’t be such a bad thing and would indicate that Trump’s plan is indeed working.
Bowser then went on to suggest that even if crime is being reduced, residents are somehow “living in fear.” Of whom? The National Guard? But Bowser’s backhanded compliment to the Trump plan went too far for other civic “leaders” who demanded that any signs of conciliation between the city and the president are beyond the pale, even if it is literally saving lives, and black lives in particular.
Not able to effectively argue with statistics, Washington city council members said it is just wrong for the mayor to say anything positive about Trump’s plan because, well, it’s Donald Trump’s plan. Nothing the president proposes is ever good for American citizens, because this is all about Trump trying to threaten a Democratic municipality.
"We should not, as the District of Columbia, be giving people the impression that this is a good thing, that we are OK with it, that it is helping the city. It is not doing any of those things," at-large Democratic Council member Robert White Jr. posted on X. "I am not OK with this. The average resident is not OK with this. D.C. residents, D.C. voters, are not OK with this."
Not okay with what? Less crime.
What is impressive is that black leaders claim to feel “under siege” because the National Guard is in town. Perhaps they should consider that the National Guard works to defend American citizens and is not Trump’s private army. Maybe they should consider that black Americans have the most to gain from reduced crime in Washington or Chicago, where Trump is also proposing some federal intervention. And they will also benefit from cash for bail, so the DC jails are not a revolving door for criminals.
Do these same people feel under siege due to black on black violence that has continued to rise since 2012, meaning most blacks are not being attacked or murdered by non-blacks but by people in their own community? The Bureau of Justice Statistics has been compiling data for decades that shows black people are disproportionately the victims of violence across America.
But of course, Trump is not motivated by a desire to save the lives of blacks from the chronic shootings and gang violence that are killing their community. According to black leaders, Trump is just acting out of covert racist convictions. “He has never thought well of black elected leaders, and he’s been explicit about that,” said Maya Wiley, the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Black leaders always want to racialize the argument without even acknowledging or caring to consider the prevalence of violence within the black community. But it is Trump who is saving black lives—and in a demonstrable manner that is not clouded by caustic rhetoric—proving that black lives do matter.
Trump is talking about taking enhanced policing to Chicago, a city where guns are banned, but somehow accounts for transforming the windy town into a war zone of gun violence.
Jesús (Chuy) García (D-IL), whose district is in Chicago, made it known that his city is not interested in experiencing the same reduction in crime as Washington.
“He is not welcome in Chicago,” Garcia told CBC News. “This isn't about public safety. It's not about law and order. It's a show of force and mostly a stage show, again, underscoring his authoritarian intentions. This is intended to create fear, silence, and control. Sending troops to occupy cities where they're not wanted doesn't enhance public safety, and we can't accept this as the norm.”
No, but he can accept ceaseless gang violence as a fact of life in Chicago.
It’s laughable that Garcia said that Chicago is a “haven for immigrants.” He means illegal immigrants, of course, and there’s no reason for anyone to feel safe in his city. Unless, of course, you can afford to buy private security and live in a gated community far from the inner city, where murder, extortion, theft, rape, and violence are what life has become.
Trump is just trying to bring some of that security to every law-abiding American. And Mayor Bowser should set aside her Democratic credentials in the interest of those law-abiding citizens and acknowledge that enhanced policing is working. It's just not working for the criminals.
