Trump Promises To Clean Up D.C., And Democrats Are … Mad?

President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to clean up the nation’s capital and crack down on the rampant crime that has made Washington, D.C., unsafe — and Democrats apparently have a problem with that.

As The Daily Wire reported, Trump announced his plan to invoke Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act and declare a public emergency — a move that allows him to bring the D.C. Police Department under the control of the Justice Department and DEA Administrator Terry Cole.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) claimed that Trump was turning the country into a “dictatorship” by mobilizing people who would clean up what the city wouldn’t.

“Trump is going to federalize DC. Senate Dems could have stopped this when we had power. In 2021, the House voted to make DC a state, but a few Senate Dems flinched and genuflected to the filibuster. Now, DC will be under an aspiring dictator’s control,” he complained.

Trump is going to federalize DC. Senate Dems could have stopped this when we had power. In 2021, the House voted to make DC a state, but a few Senate Dems flinched and genuflected to the filibuster. Now, DC will be under an aspiring dictator’s control. pic.twitter.com/U83qtlWZxv

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 11, 2025

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries objected to Trump’s plan, lashing out at the president and claiming that violent crime was lower than it had been in decades.

“Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is at a thirty-year low. Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order. Get lost,” Jeffries posted via X.

Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is at a thirty-year low.

Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department.

And zero credibility on the issue of law and order.

Get lost.

— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) August 11, 2025

Jeffries was not alone — in fact, so many Democrats and left-leaning accounts posted the same comments almost verbatim that it led a few to observe, “The early morning DNC talking points email just dropped.”

The early morning DNC talking points email just dropped. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/tCs2g8U8X9

— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) August 11, 2025

But as Red State’s Bonchie and several others pointed out, the source of the data those Democrats were citing was the Washington, D.C., Metro Police Department — where a commander had just been suspended for altering crime statistics in an effort to downplay the city’s obvious problem.

“The source of all the claims that crime is down in DC is … the DC Metro PD, which is led by a far-left DEI advocate who had to suspend a commander for…altering crime statistics,” he wrote. “So yeah, you can decide whether to trust those numbers or not.”

FYI: The source of all the claims that crime is down in DC is…the DC Metro PD, which is led by a far-left DEI advocate who had to suspend a commander for…altering crime statistics.

So yeah, you can decide whether to trust those numbers or not.

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) August 11, 2025

In July 2025, DC police commander suspended for downgrading shootings, stabbings & carjackings to lesser offenses to make crime stats look better.

They’re not fixing crime, they’re cooking the books. pic.twitter.com/HRc3OQktnS

— Kylie Jane Kremer (@KylieJaneKremer) August 11, 2025

That didn’t stop media outlets from grabbing a bucket and carrying water for the Democrats, however.

On MSNBC, host Eugene Daniels attempted to bait D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser into making it about race, saying of Trump and Republicans, “They seem to hold their harshest criticism sometimes for cities that are majority black and brown.”

MSNBC analyst says Trump is trying to bring down DC’s crime rate because he’s racist. This is how broken Democrat ideas are. They’d rather more black people die than have peace and order in DC under Trump. pic.twitter.com/TOuIntsfiu

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 11, 2025

CNN anchor Dana Bash took it in a different direction, claiming that the “most violent moment” in the capital city’s recent history was January 6th, 2021.

CNN’s Dana Bash talking about President Trump’s plan to address crime in D.C.: I should note that the most violent moment in recent history in D.C. was January 6th, and it was an attack on the United States Capitol by a lot of people who were doing it in the name of Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/ncCtrPVRkv

— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) August 11, 2025

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum defended Trump — and noted that attempts to put a stop to violent crime should not be an issue divided along political lines. “This is not a partisan issue … This is the place where we showcase America — and we can’t showcase America in a place where the police are not allowed to enforce the law,” he said.

.@SecretaryBurgum: “This is not a partisan issue… This is the place where we showcase America — and we can’t showcase America in a place where the police are not allowed to enforce the law.” pic.twitter.com/X05RdGDoeq

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 11, 2025