Charles Lipson writes for the Spectator about the impact of President Donald Trump’s recent action to fight crime in the nation’s capital.
President Trump’s initiative to restore law and order to the streets of the nation’s capital is a smart political move. All Americans consider Washington “our city,” and we want it safe. We can see on the nightly news that it is not, and we’re not happy about it. If Trump can turn that around, he will get well-deserved credit, not from the legacy media but from the public.
Trump and his party will reap a second major benefit, as well. If he can lessen the muggings, car jackings and armed robberies, if he can move the homeless off downtown streets, he will highlight the difference between his approach and the painful failures in Chicago, New York, Los Angles and other major cities, all of them governed by Democrats. That’s a huge political benefit, if he can secure it.
The president can take action in Washington because he has unique authority there, despite some laws granting the city “home rule” powers. Trump is taking full advantage of that unique authority, declaring a “crime emergency” in the nation’s capital.
What happens on the streets of Washington resonates across the country for several reasons. Americans focus on the nation’s capital, as we have been taught since elementary school. We travel there by the millions as tourists and consider it an important visit for our school-age children. And, of course, we see it on the news every night.
This prominence means crime in areas close to the White House and Capitol Building get lots of coverage, as we saw again recently when a DOGE staffer was punneled by a gang of young thugs. Because the national media is pervasive in DC, street crime gets more coverage there than in any city besides New York. That means Americans know the streets of Washington are none too safe, and they are none too happy about it.
