The Democratic Party is having a reckoning of sorts over Donald Trump's recent federalization of D.C.
Had Democrats stayed on point and only gone after Trump for deploying National Guard troops or taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, they probably would have won this battle.
Instead, they appear to be defending the crime itself, and it is backfiring on them, so much so that some key Democrats are already walking away from the party in light of this narrative.
Insha Rahman, vice president of advocacy and partnerships of far-left criminal justice reform group Vera Institute of Justice, is everything that is wrong with the Democratic Party right now.
Rahman was speaking to Democrats this week, and she told them that migrant crimes and crimes such as carjacking “don’t matter to that many Americans.”
She further stated, "Trump is not about safety. This is a political power grab, and he will do it however he can, whether that's at the ballot box or taking over our cities."
Migrant crime is literally one of the key reasons that Trump was elected, as immigration was a major issue in the 2024 cycle, but those on the left are still not getting the memo.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) is in a battleground state with lots of moderate voters who don’t see crime the same way blue state Democrats see it.
He is one of the few smart ones in the party, breaking from this narrative that looking the other way on crime is the only way to fight back against Trump.
On walking around D.C., he stated, “There are periods of time where I don’t feel safe. And so, I do think that we can improve the situation.”
He, of course, then took the obligatory shots at Trump and Republicans, claiming they are effectively defunding the police, but that is a lie, and we all know it. But I get it… he is defying the party line, so he must land a jab or suffer the wrath of leadership.
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is even getting on this train with Trump, warning Democrats that they are falling for the trap of backing criminals over law-abiding citizens.
While discussing crime and his party's new approach, he pushed back, stating, “And I think the Democratic Party has to look at this issue much more honestly and say, hey, there are some places where we should be doing better, our leaders should be doing better. But that’s a different question [than] whether we should violate the Constitution, use military force in our cities, obviously with some political objectives in mind by the president as well, whether we should put our National Guard officers in harm’s way for a mission they’re not trained for, and actually, potentially, exacerbate tensions in communities.”
He continued, “The best police leaders in America will tell you that the way to reduce crime is to build a bond between police and community and to really build relationships. You can’t do that with an occupying force that isn’t even from the place and doesn’t have the opportunity to get to know people.”
If Democrats start to go this route, it could be a problem for Trump, but thankfully, any plan backed by Trump is automatically opposed by Democrat leadership. Having said that, if I were Trump, I would back off the federalization of Chicago narrative and simply extend an offer of help. Put Democrats on the defensive by refusing federal help to clean up the bad pockets of the city. Let voters see where they truly stand.
