DC Mayor Slams Trump’s ‘Authoritarian Push’ as National Guard Deploys in Crime Crackdown
Washington D.C.’s Democratic mayor Muriel Bowser delivered her sharpest rebuke yet to President Donald Trump on Tuesday night, condemning his deployment of the National Guard as an “authoritarian push” and “an intrusion on our autonomy.”
Speaking during a live-streamed town hall with community leaders, Bowser called on residents to resist what she framed as a politically driven seizure of the city’s police powers.
“This is a time where community needs to jump in, um, and we all need to, to do what we can in our space in our lane to protect our city, uh, and to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule, and 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,” she urged.
Bowser, accusing the administration of chasing optics, issued a warning to parents: “This is the type of thing that makes for good TV… part of the motivation, I think, is to get some good TV and arrests in D.C.”
“So, don’t let your kids be a part of that, like, know where your kids are and make sure they’re not grouping together because they will be a target,” she said.
The forceful remarks marked a pointed shift from Bowser’s tone earlier that same day after meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi when she struck a more conciliatory note, pledging to “make the most of the additional officer support” and ensure federal forces were “being well used” to tackle crime.
Trump, who has described the capital as unsafe and blighted by crime, was accused by Bowser of misrepresenting Washington’s character.
His reaction to visible homelessness, she said, “triggers something in him that has him believing that our very beautiful city is dirty, which it is not.”
“We are not 700,000 scumbags and punks,” Bowser said, adding that, “we don’t have neighborhoods that should be bulldozed.
“We have to be clear about our story, who we are, and what we want for our city.”
Her comments came a day after U.S. Attorney for Washington Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host, vowed to crack down on “young punks” in the city.
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