Just a few days into President Trump’s 30-day federal takeover of Washington, D.C., “The Morning Joe” panel discussed how Trump’s reign could be a trap that sets Democrats up to appear as if they are relaxed on crime or an opportunity for them to show they’re concerned about the capital’s safety.
Kicking off the conversation was Susan Page, who first mentioned that Trump is strategically platforming the need for safety and security, one of the many issues, Page says many Americans care about.
“I think this is one more example of of President Trump’s skill at taking issue, on which, there is broad public agreement, like illegal immigration ought to be stopped at the southern border, or the sentiment that men should not participate in women’s sports and now standing against crime,” Page explained.” There are very few politicians who want to stand up for crime now, so it sets kind of a trap for Democrats because if Trump says, ‘I’m going to make the capital safe, everybody’s for that.’ If Democrats say, ‘Well, look, it’s on a 30-year low this year. Last year it’s declined even more this year. This is not the national emergency he portrays it as being,’ it seems as though they are not taking a tough stance on crime.”
She continued: “I think this has been very tricky for Democrats and one result as you see some Democrats, including the leadership of the city, protesting that this federalized takeover of law enforcement in Washington is a bad thing and inappropriate and unnecessary. A lot of Democrats are just going to wait and see.”
Joe Scarborough then jumped in to agree that it could be a trap, but that he’s also heard from Dems that Trump’s move might not be the worst decision.
“This seems like a trap set up for Democrats. I know there are other people watching this show that don’t live in D.C. and don’t hear from me,” Scarborough said. “I’m telling you, I have received a lot of texts from Democrats that worked on Democratic campaigns who have never voted for a Republican before, that says if he doesn’t overreach, a big if, but if he doesn’t overreach, if he does this in partnership with the D.C. police force, that they will see this as a positive thing.”
Lemire closed out the convo by seeing both perspectives, highlighting that Trump’s instruction for the national guard to team up with local police could be concernining.
“I think it’s a really split verdict here as Susan and others have said. There’s some who think this is good. Others say this is worrisome,” Lemire said. “They don’t want to see President Trump meddle with local affairs in Washington, D.C. You’re right to say that D.C. is a little different. It is the nation’s capital. Also, because it’s the federal city. The president and Congress have a lot more authority there than they would somewhere else. But you’re right to suggest this could be a trap.”
On Monday, Trump announced that he would be deploying members of the National Guard to D.C. in an effort to crackdown on crime in the city, adding that the government would also oversee management of D.C. police officers. This all comes after Trump issued an executive order on Monday, instructing D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to hand over the services of the Metropolitan Police Department. Per CBS, the White House shared that it would seek Congress’ approval for a long-term extension to continue control of D.C. officers. Trump’s actions are allowed under section 740 of the Home Rule Act.
Watch the full segment in the video above.
