When Donald Trump initially announced the federalization of DC, while Mayor Bowser did not like it, she said she would make good use of the added assets in bad pockets of DC, where she knew crime was a problem.
The party must have gotten to her because she then backtracked, calling it an authoritarian move.
Now, however, see seems to have succumbed to the fact that crime rates are being lowered with Trump’s effort to crack down on crime.
When I saw Bowser’s initial press conference, I actually gave her props for standing up to the party and accepting Trump’s help.
It was clear this was not her first choice, which is why, at the time, I had suggested that Trump should have offered the assets to her rather than federalizing the city.
Within 48 hours, however, her attitude changed, and she completely flipped from acting like a partner to an adversary.
Bowser stated, “This is a time where community needs to jump in and we all need to do what we can in our space, in our lane, to protect our city and to protect our autonomy, to protect our Home Rule, and get to the other side of this guy, and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push.”
While some may not agree with Trump’s tactics, there is no denying the fact that crime has fallen in DC.
There have been roughly 75 violent crimes committed since the Trump takeover, which is a more than 20% drop from the previous two-week period prior to the federalization of the city.
Crimes such as burglary and theft have also dropped by about 25%, but sex abuse cases have seen a tick upwards.
DC is a very special case due to the oversight by Congress, so federalization will not play as well in other cities. I am already on the record stating that while I would love to see cities like Chicago and New York welcome Trump’s help, I do not recommend the federalization or sending in the Guard because I know how the Democrats will play this to crush the GOP in the 2026 midterm elections.
Bowser recently gave an update on the crime stats since the federalization of the city, stating, "For carjackings, the difference between this period, this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year represents an 87% reduction in carjackings in Washington, D.C. We know that when carjackings go down, when use of gun goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer. So, this surge has been important to us for that reason."
She continued, "This is what we think in just a couple of weeks of experience has worked. more federal law enforcement officers on the street — we think having more stops that got to illegal guns has helped. We think that there is more accountability in the system, or at least perceived accountability in the system, that is driving down illegal behavior. We know that we have had fewer gun crimes, fewer homicides, and we have experienced an extreme reduction in carjackings."
Bowser tempered her comments by saying that in some situations, public trust has been broken, but that is to be expected to score some political points. If I were the mayor of any big city as a Democrat, I would be reaching out to the administration for help, not a takeover, but we all know that will never happen. Rather than working with Trump to make their cities safer, they need to put up a front of resisting the bad orange man. I just hope voters can see through this charade to see that their Democrat mayors are hanging them out to dry.
