Trump says DC takeover will serve as a 'beacon' to New York, Chicago and LA
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The National Guard in Washington, D.C., will serve as a “beacon” for other major U.S. cities, including New York and Los Angeles, President Donald Trump said Wednesday in a meandering speech at the Kennedy Center.
Trump federalized the D.C. police and deployed about 800 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital this week, claiming the city is facing “out of control” crime that is getting worse. Data shows violent crime in D.C. has been declining since 2023. Trump also noted he wants to extend federal control of the D.C. police past the current 30-day limit.
“We are going to do something and it's going to serve as a beacon for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other places all over the country,” Trump said. “Our whole country is going to be so different and so great.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser decried Trump’s measures as an “authoritarian push” on Tuesday.
Federal agents have also been deployed alongside police. On Monday night, about 850 officers and federal agents patrolled D.C. and made 23 arrests, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Officials made an additional 43 arrests Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
Trump also announced he will be hosting the Kennedy Center Honors in December.
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Washington DC takeover: Key Points
Donald Trump deploys National Guard to Washington streetsTrump to host Kennedy Center HonorsWhy did Trump deploy the National Guard in DC, and what can troops do?DC mayor attacks anti-crime measures as 'authoritarian push'President says DC is in chaos. The crime stats tell another storyTrump wants to extend control of DC police past 30-day limit
22 hours ago
Good morning
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Donald Trump and his administration after the president dispatched National Guard troops to the streets to stamp out crime in Washington, D.C., which he has insisted is “out of control,” despite official data suggesting the opposite is true.
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 08:40
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22 hours ago
Donald Trump deploys National Guard to Washington streets
Members of the District of Columbia National Guard began their first night of operations in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-crime crackdown in the nation’s capital.
Troops were seen leaving the D.C. Armory earlier Tuesday and by the evening a group of about a dozen Guard personnel stood with five parked military Humvee trucks near the Washington Monument before later departing for an unknown location.
“We just did a presence patrol to be amongst the people, to be seen,” Master Sgt. Cory Boroff, one of the Guard troops near the Monument, told The New York Times.
“Of the people, for the people in D.C.,” he added.
Officials have not disclosed the exact number of troops deployed to the streets on Tuesday as part of the president’s decision, announced on Monday, to call 800 Guard personnel to the capital to fight what he has described as rampant violent crime in Washington.
Here’s a full report from Josh Marcus.
National Guard deployed on streets of Washington, DC in Trump crime-fighting push
The presence of troops in the capital is expected to grow over the next week and the president is threatening to take similar tactics to other Democratic cities
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 08:50
22 hours ago
DC mayor attacks anti-crime measures as 'authoritarian push'
Mayor Muriel Bowser again criticized the Trump administration’s anti-crime strategy during a virtual town hall event with local citizens on Tuesday, just as the Guard were taking to the streets..
Taking questions from residents, Bowser was asked how faith groups could help support the community, prompting her to urge residents to protect the city.
“This is a time when the community needs to jump in,” she said.
“To protect our city, to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule.
“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.”
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 09:05
21 hours ago
Trump says DC is in chaos. The crime stats tell another story
The president insisted at his White House press conference on Monday that his moves to “rescue” the seat of American democracy from violent street thugs was essential, using dystopian language to portrait a bleak picture of a city over-run by murderers, muggers and carjackers.
But the offical data simply does not match up with his rhetoric.
Trump says crime in Washington DC is ‘out of control’. The stats suggest otherwise
President insists capital in need of ‘liberation’ from ‘violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people’ but data says no such problem exists
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 09:20
21 hours ago
Trump team looking to create squad of 600 soldiers ready to deploy at a moments notice to quash civil unrest
The Trump administration is reportedly considering plans to create a squad of 600 National Guard soldiers who would be ready to deploy into U.S. cities to tackle civil unrest.
As part of the “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force,” troops would be equipped with weapons and riot gear, ready to deploy within an hour under the proposals, which could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post.
Troops would be split in half, with 300 stationed at headquarters in Alabama and 300 in Arizona.
Rhian Lubin has the story.
Trump looking to create squad of 600 troops to deploy across US against civil unrest
Troops would be equipped with weapons and riot gear, ready to deploy within an hour under the reported plans
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 09:45
21 hours ago
Analysis: After DC, Trump wants to ‘takeover’ New York and Chicago. Can he?
Rules governing the deployment of National Guard in states would restrict their ability to conduct law enforcement in most jurisdictions, John Bowden writes.
After D.C., Trump wants to ‘takeover’ New York and Chicago. Can he?
Rules governing deployments of National Guard in states will restrict troops’ ability to conduct law enforcement in most jurisdictions, John Bowden writes
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 10:05
20 hours ago
Mayor calls for DC to become 51st state after Trump’s National Guard crackdown
Muriel Bowser has revived calls for the District of Columbia to become America’s 51st state in response to President Donald Trump’s move to federalize Washington’s police force.
As we’ve seen, the National Guard hit the streets on Tuesday night but, for Bowser, their presence is not necessary.
“We have seen a precipitous lessening of crime in the city, violent crime, especially after a post-Covid spike that we acknowledge, and we got after, and we drove down the numbers in 2023,” the mayor said on The Breakfast Club radio show on Tuesday.
“We reported last year the lowest level of violent crime in 30 years. So, we’re not taking our foot off the gas.
“We’re continuing to work, but we think that this action kind of plays into his narrative about cities, about using force, about being tough on crime, and I can say a little bit more about why D.C. is different, but it’s times like this when America needs to know why your nation’s capital, a place where 700,000 taxpaying Americans live, should be the 51st state.”
Here’s more.
Mayor calls for DC to become 51st state after Trump’s National Guard crackdown
Muriel Bowser says president’s move to federalize city police force demonstrates why the District of Columbia needs statehood to secure its independence
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 10:30
20 hours ago
Why is DC not a state already?
Since the mayor raises it, here’s the answer to that question.
Although the District of Columbia has three electoral votes in presidential elections, it does not have voting representatives or senators in Congress and is subject to a greater degree of control than individual states.
It was created by direct order of the U.S. Constitution, which called for the formation of a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress, a stipulation honored by the Residence Act that was adopted on July 16 1790 and brought D.C. into being to house the city of Washington.
The skyline of Washington, D.C.(Getty)
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 10:55
19 hours ago
Watch: Trump plans to use DC takeover as a 'model' for other cities
Here’s what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had to say on that theme yesterday:
Trump plans to use DC takeover as a 'model' for other cities
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 11:20
19 hours ago
Pentagon already calling National Guard in other states looking for units that to help in DC
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that reinforcements, including “specialized units,” could be called up if needed to help rein in protests or unrest.
Here’s more.
Pentagon already calling National Guard in other states looking for DC reinforcements
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says reinforcements, including ‘specialized units,’ could be called up if needed
Joe Sommerlad13 August 2025 11:45
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