NEW YORK: President Donald Trump stood among several hundred law enforcement officers, National Guard troops and federal agents at a US Park Police operations center in one of Washington, D.C.’s most dangerous neighborhoods. As the cameras rolled, he offered a stark message about crime, an issue he’s been hammering for decades, as he thanked them for their efforts.
“We’re not playing games,” he said. “We’re going to make it safe. And we’re going to then go on to other places.”
The Republican president is proudly promoting the work of roughly 2,000 National Guard troops in the city, loaned by allied governors from at least six Republican-led states. They’re in place to confront what Trump describes as an out-of-control crime wave in the Democratic-run city, though violent crime in Washington, like dozens of cities led by Democrats, has been down significantly since a pandemic high.
Trump and his allies are confident that his stunning decision to dispatch troops to a major American city is a big political winner almost certain to remind voters of why they elected him last fall.
Democrats say this is a fight they’re eager to have.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, an Army veteran, cast Trump’s move as a dangerous political stunt designed to distract the American people from his inability to address persistent inflation, rising energy prices and major health insurance cuts, among other major policy challenges.
“I’m deeply offended, as someone who’s actually worn the uniform, that he would use the lives of these men and women and the activation of these men and women as political pawns,” Moore told The Associated Press.
Trump’s extraordinary federal power grab comes as the term-limited president has threatened to send troops to other American cities led by Democrats, even as voters voice increasing concern about his authoritarian tendencies. And it could be a factor for both sides in elections in Virginia and New Jersey this fall — and next year’s more consequential midterms.
Inside the White House strategy
The president and White House see Trump’s decision to take over the D.C. police department as a political boon and have been eager to publicize the efforts.
The White House offered a livestream of Trump’s Thursday evening appearance, and on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a surprise visit to Union Station, D.C.’s busy transit hub, to thank members of the National Guard over Shake Shack burgers.
Each morning, Trump’s press office distributes statistics outlining the previous night’s law enforcement actions, including total arrests and how many of those people are in the country illegally.
The strategy echoes Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, which has often forced Democrats to come to the defense of people living in the country illegally, including some who have committed serious crimes.
A White House official, speaking on background to discuss internal deliberations, dismissed concerns about perceptions of federal overreach in Washington, saying public safety is a fundamental requirement and a priority for residents.
Trump defended his efforts during an interview on “The Todd Starnes Show” Thursday.
“Because I sent in people to stop crime, they said, ‘He’s a dictator.’ The real people, though, even Democrats, are calling me and saying, ‘It’s unbelievable’ how much it has helped,” he said.
The White House hopes to use its actions in D.C. as a test case to inspire changes in other cities, though Trump has legal power to intervene in Washington that he doesn’t have elsewhere because the city is under partial federal control.
“Everyday Americans who support commonsense policies would deem the removal of more than 600 dangerous criminals from the streets of our nation’s capital a huge success,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers. “The Democrats continue to be wildly unpopular because they oppose efforts to stop violent crime and protect law-abiding citizens.”
Democrats lean in
Moore, Maryland’s Democratic governor, suggested a dark motivation behind Trump’s approach, which is focused almost exclusively on cities with large minority populations led by Democratic mayors of color.
“Once again, we are seeing how these incredibly dangerous and biased tropes are being used about these communities by someone who is not willing to step foot in them, but is willing to stand in the Oval Office and defend them,” Moore said.
Even before Trump called the National Guard to Washington, Democratic mayors across the country have been touting their success in reducing violent crime.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, who leads the Democratic Mayors Association, noted that over half of the 70 largest Democratic-led cities in the country have seen violent crime decrease so far this year.
“He’s stoking racial division and stoking fear and chaos,” Bibb said. “We need someone who wants to be a collaborator, not a dictator.”
Democratic strategists acknowledge that Trump’s GOP has enjoyed a significant advantage in recent years on the issues of crime and immigration — issues Trump has long sought to connect. But as Democratic officials push back against the federal takeover in Washington, party strategists are offering cautious optimism that Trump’s tactics will backfire.
“This is an opportunity for the party to go on offense on an issue that has plagued us for a long time,” said veteran Democratic strategist Daniel Wessel. “The facts are on our side.”
A closer look at the numbers
FBI statistics released this month show murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in the US in 2024 fell nearly 15 percent from a year earlier, continuing a decline that’s been seen since a coronavirus pandemic-era crime spike.
Meanwhile, recent public polling shows that Republicans have enjoyed an advantage over Democrats on the issue of crime.
A CNN/SSRS poll conducted in May found that about 4 in 10 US adults said the Republican Party’s views were closer to their own on crime and policing, while 3 in 10 said they were more aligned with Democrats’ views. About 3 in 10 said neither party reflected their opinions. Other polls conducted in the past few years found a similar gap.
Trump also had a significant edge over Democrat Kamala Harris on the issue in the 2024 election. About half of voters said Trump was better able to handle crime.
At the same time, Americans have expressed more concern about the scope of presidential power since Trump took office for a second time in January.
An AP-NORC poll conducted in April found that about half of US adults said the president has “too much” power in the way the US government operates these days, up from 32 percent in March 2024.
The unusual military presence in a US city, which featured checkpoints across Washington staffed in some cases by masked federal agents, injected a sense of fear and chaos into daily life for some people in the nation’s capital.
At least one day care center was closed Thursday as childcare staff feared the military action, which has featured a surge in immigration enforcement, while local officials raised concerns about next week’s public school openings.
Moore said he would block any push by Trump to send the National Guard into Baltimore.
“I have not seen anything or any conditions on the ground that I think would justify the mobilization of our National Guard,” he said. “They think they’re winning the political argument. I don’t give a s— — about the political argument.”
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Trump embraces tough-on-crime mantra amid DC takeover as he and Democrats claim political wins
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Trump embraces tough-on-crime mantra amid DC takeover as he and Democrats claim political wins
- 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
- 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
Elections under fire: Colombia endures deadliest campaign in decades
- A presidential candidate has been assassinated, rebels have pipe bombed a major city and a third of the country is considered unsafe for candidates
SUAREZ: A presidential candidate has been assassinated, rebels have pipe?bombed a major city and a third of the country is considered unsafe for candidates — all making Colombia’s 2026 election campaign one of the most violent in decades.
Nowhere is that danger more palpable than in Cauca, where a silver armored SUV hurries along a mountain track, watched by rifle-wielding guerrillas.
Every second spent along the route is a risk for passenger Esneyder Gomez, a 46-year-old Indigenous candidate hoping to win election to Colombia’s Congress on March 8.
Neatly groomed and driven by anger about the treatment of his Nasa minority, Gomez is hunting for votes in a rebel?controlled region of Colombia’s lawless southwest.
The danger is real. He has been threatened by the guerrilla for a decade. A few months ago his vehicle was shot up as he returned from a political event.
Just days ago, Indigenous legislator Aida Quilcue was kidnapped in the same area, before being released after frantic negotiations.
AFP recently followed Gomez as he trudged village to village along muddy roads, trying to win the votes of Indigenous communities.
The son of a Nasa Indigenous guerrilla and an Afro?Colombian police officer, his protection is a phalanx of some 30 Indigenous Guards, some barely out of their teens and armed with little more than batons.
“The risk is constant,” Gomez says, noting wryly that in the decade-and-a-half since Colombia’s biggest armed groups signed a peace deal, peace remains elusive.
“Post?conflict is turning out harsher than the conflict itself,” he says.
Ahead of the legislative elections and a presidential vote on May 31, at least 61 political leaders have been killed, according to the country’s Electoral Observation Mission.
The violence was brought into sharp focus last June, when young conservative presidential frontrunner Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in broad daylight while campaigning in the capital, Bogota.
Candidates are under threat of violence in 130 municipalities — about a third of the total — according to observers.
- ‘61 years of struggle’ -
For many Colombians, the uptick in violence has recalled bad old days of the 1980s and 1990s, when five presidential candidates were assassinated, with drug lords like Pablo Escobar calling the shots.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a deployment of security forces to ensure “safe” elections.
But many blame the rise in violence on the incumbent leftist government’s policy of trying to negotiate rather than fight armed groups.
During incumbent Gustavo Petro’s four years in the presidential palace, many groups have expanded territory and grown rich as coca production has hit record highs.
According to UN figures, cocaine exports are now over 1,700 tons, higher than at any point on record.
Evidence of the trade can be seen all across the steep mist-covered mountains that flank Gomez’s route.
The hillsides are painted emerald green with coca crops. They will likely be harvested, turned into cocaine and shipped to rich customers in North America and Europe.
Immediately after the 2016 peace agreement, people “could move more safely” Gomez says.
The main faction of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — FARC — laid down arms. But dissident factions did not.
Today they impose “territorial control” says Gomez.
“I’ve seen many, many colleagues fall” to armed groups, he adds. “It is infuriating. It makes your blood boil.”
In this part of the Cauca, the rebels make no attempt to remain in the shadows. A poster boasts of “61 years of struggle” featuring a famed guerrilla fighter.
Along the road, armed rebels man checkpoints where travelers must identify themselves. Cameras are unwelcome.
- ‘This must stop’ -
Gomez’s Indigenous bodyguards are always unarmed, hoping to avoid confrontation, explains Jose Yatacue, coordinator of the Nasa unit.
They hope to solve any problems through dialogue, but acknowledge their protectee “is at risk” because of his past role as a social leader “and even more as a candidate.”
Neither the communities nor Yatacue’s guard can rely on the large-scale intervention of the state, only a few unarmed state bodyguards accompany them.
The region is replete with dissidents loyal to warlord Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez — better known as Ivan Mordisco, Colombia’s most wanted guerrilla.
He is accused by the government of crimes against humanity and ethnocide of the Nasa, including the forced recruitment of Indigenous children.
“It has been systematic,” Gomez says. “They have brutalized the Nasa people. This must stop.”
The area will be a test of whether Colombia’s elections can be free, fair and safe across the whole country.
“We have been a forgotten territory,” says Luz Dary Munoz, leader of a nearby hamlet. “Everything we have built has been through community effort.”
Nowhere is that danger more palpable than in Cauca, where a silver armored SUV hurries along a mountain track, watched by rifle-wielding guerrillas.
Every second spent along the route is a risk for passenger Esneyder Gomez, a 46-year-old Indigenous candidate hoping to win election to Colombia’s Congress on March 8.
Neatly groomed and driven by anger about the treatment of his Nasa minority, Gomez is hunting for votes in a rebel?controlled region of Colombia’s lawless southwest.
The danger is real. He has been threatened by the guerrilla for a decade. A few months ago his vehicle was shot up as he returned from a political event.
Just days ago, Indigenous legislator Aida Quilcue was kidnapped in the same area, before being released after frantic negotiations.
AFP recently followed Gomez as he trudged village to village along muddy roads, trying to win the votes of Indigenous communities.
The son of a Nasa Indigenous guerrilla and an Afro?Colombian police officer, his protection is a phalanx of some 30 Indigenous Guards, some barely out of their teens and armed with little more than batons.
“The risk is constant,” Gomez says, noting wryly that in the decade-and-a-half since Colombia’s biggest armed groups signed a peace deal, peace remains elusive.
“Post?conflict is turning out harsher than the conflict itself,” he says.
Ahead of the legislative elections and a presidential vote on May 31, at least 61 political leaders have been killed, according to the country’s Electoral Observation Mission.
The violence was brought into sharp focus last June, when young conservative presidential frontrunner Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot in broad daylight while campaigning in the capital, Bogota.
Candidates are under threat of violence in 130 municipalities — about a third of the total — according to observers.
- ‘61 years of struggle’ -
For many Colombians, the uptick in violence has recalled bad old days of the 1980s and 1990s, when five presidential candidates were assassinated, with drug lords like Pablo Escobar calling the shots.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a deployment of security forces to ensure “safe” elections.
But many blame the rise in violence on the incumbent leftist government’s policy of trying to negotiate rather than fight armed groups.
During incumbent Gustavo Petro’s four years in the presidential palace, many groups have expanded territory and grown rich as coca production has hit record highs.
According to UN figures, cocaine exports are now over 1,700 tons, higher than at any point on record.
Evidence of the trade can be seen all across the steep mist-covered mountains that flank Gomez’s route.
The hillsides are painted emerald green with coca crops. They will likely be harvested, turned into cocaine and shipped to rich customers in North America and Europe.
Immediately after the 2016 peace agreement, people “could move more safely” Gomez says.
The main faction of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — FARC — laid down arms. But dissident factions did not.
Today they impose “territorial control” says Gomez.
“I’ve seen many, many colleagues fall” to armed groups, he adds. “It is infuriating. It makes your blood boil.”
In this part of the Cauca, the rebels make no attempt to remain in the shadows. A poster boasts of “61 years of struggle” featuring a famed guerrilla fighter.
Along the road, armed rebels man checkpoints where travelers must identify themselves. Cameras are unwelcome.
- ‘This must stop’ -
Gomez’s Indigenous bodyguards are always unarmed, hoping to avoid confrontation, explains Jose Yatacue, coordinator of the Nasa unit.
They hope to solve any problems through dialogue, but acknowledge their protectee “is at risk” because of his past role as a social leader “and even more as a candidate.”
Neither the communities nor Yatacue’s guard can rely on the large-scale intervention of the state, only a few unarmed state bodyguards accompany them.
The region is replete with dissidents loyal to warlord Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez — better known as Ivan Mordisco, Colombia’s most wanted guerrilla.
He is accused by the government of crimes against humanity and ethnocide of the Nasa, including the forced recruitment of Indigenous children.
“It has been systematic,” Gomez says. “They have brutalized the Nasa people. This must stop.”
The area will be a test of whether Colombia’s elections can be free, fair and safe across the whole country.
“We have been a forgotten territory,” says Luz Dary Munoz, leader of a nearby hamlet. “Everything we have built has been through community effort.”
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