President Donald J. Trump Drew a Line in the Sand on Crime
Robert Burgess • September 4, 2025
For decades, Washington, D.C. has served as a canary in the coal mine of what could happen when you allow radical progressive policies to take priority over public safety. Essentially, the elected leadership has given up years and years of investment trying to tamp down the city’s reputation as one of the most crime-ridden cities in America. Now, due to a lack of principled leadership as well as woke policies, and anti-police rhetoric, Washington has tumbled even further into the abyss of lawlessness. Barely a day goes by when carjackings aren’t mentioned in the daily news, drug dealers blatantly operate in broad daylight, Washingtonians are hesitant to walk alone at night because, regardless of what the elected officials say, violent crime is still on the rise. And what are these supposed leaders doing to address it? Absolutely nothing.
Like so many others, President Donald J. Trump had seen enough.
President Trump has federalized the police in the nation’s capital, sending a simple message about authority to every mayor and governor in America: If you won’t protect your citizens, the Trump administration will.
There is zero reason why America’s capital should ever be overrun by crime, controlled by thugs, and become nothing more than a shell of the city it rightfully ought to be. The answer isn’t “wait and see” . . . it is act decisively and that is what President Trump did. If leaders in other states and cities, including New York City, continue to come up short, they should expect President Trump to make his administration’s presence felt.
Don’t misread President Trump’s desire for a safe, clean, and compliant streets as a threat . . . it is a promise, and it is long overdue.
No Policing in Washington
As our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. is not like other cities. It has a tourism industry built around our great American experiment that millions of Americans (and foreigners) take advantage of to visit the national monuments, tour the Capitol, or simply bring their children to the Smithsonian. But, for both residents and visitors alike, Washington, D.C. feels dirty, grim, and unsafe.
The blame is easy to assign because it rightfully should rest entirely with the Washington, D.C. City Council. These hyper-partisan, radical progressives leaned heavily into their misguided ideology which led them to defund the police instead of standing by them. They also created and fostered a culture that didn’t support prosecutors who jail criminals, but rather, those who set them free. Instead of protecting the public safety and trust, these radical progressive elected officials pursued virtue signaling and unnecessary wish list items of the most outspoken and out-of-touch elements of their party.
The evidence was clear: city leaders had chosen to let law abiding citizens in Washington, D.C., continue to be terrorized in their city while allowing criminals, misguided youths, and illegal immigrants to reign supreme.
President Trump’s Bold Move
When President Donald J. Trump federalized policing in Washington, it wasn’t only to repair crime in the capital — it was to rebuild confidence in government. It is the most fundamental role of government to keep its citizens safe. And if it can’t do that, the rest doesn’t matter.
The President of the United States has a particular claim on Washington, D.C., because of its peculiar status — not really a state, not quite a city, but a district. President Trump used that authority to overrule local leaders who faltered. He placed federal law enforcement in command, sent resources where they were most needed and sent an unmistakable signal: The days of lawlessness in America’s capital are over.
This wasn’t a partisan stunt. This was leadership. Those on the city council made excuses; so, President Trump delivered results. Prosecutors twisted themselves into knots to find ways not to prosecute criminals; so, President Trump stood with victims and demanded we follow the law. Progressive activists called for leniency and cried out that the system was designed to hold them down; the man occupying the White House called for accountability.
President Trump’s decision was reminiscent of his trademark style of dealing with problems: swift, unapologetic, and results oriented. It is also a dare to the governors of every crime-riddled state and the mayors of every sanctuary city in the country . . . don’t abandon law and order.
A Cautionary Tale for Other Cities and States
The lesson from Washington, D.C., is straightforward: Clean up your cities or President Donald Trump will do it for you.
President Trump has demonstrated that he is open to using the power of the federal government to bring back law and order when it is being abandoned by local leaders.
This is not a trampling of local control; it is a recognition of reality. Cities that spiral into anarchy are not just threatening their own citizens — they are threatening the stability of the country. When local government sacrifices its responsibility, it is the duty of the federal government to intervene . . . not permanently, but long enough to reestablish the rule of law.
The Republican Model Works
Republicans have proven they have the solutions to what works and what doesn’t — year in and year out — when it comes to fighting crime. Republican-led states and cities have shown tough-on-crime policies work.
Here’s the recipe: Support the blue, enforce the law, prosecute criminals, and put our victims first.
Democrats, though, have decided to take the opposite approach. They have promoted cashless bail that leads to violent criminals being released back on the street. They’ve demonized police officers so much that it’s nearly impossible to recruit new officers. They’ve cut funding for law enforcement while they throw money at social experiments that achieve nothing for public safety.
The results? Crime is skyrocketing, communities are unsafe, and residents are voting with their feet by fleeing blue cities in record numbers.
Federalizing Police: The Last Resort
No one, least of all President Donald Trump or his political allies, want the federal government micromanaging local police departments. Policing always has been, and should remain, first and foremost, a local responsibility. Local leaders know their communities better than anyone, and the front line of public safety is state and local government.
But if city leaders fail, then the fallout doesn’t stay within city limits. Crime spreads. Businesses relocate. Tourism evaporates. Residents flee. And when our own nation’s capital is not safe, then clearly the radically progressive approach to governing simply doesn’t work.
Federalizing police is not the best solution; it’s the option of last resort. But it is an effective tool, and President Trump has demonstrated he’s willing to use it. While it may terrify Democrat governors who are thinking about running for president in 2028 and concern progressive mayors that rely on political backing from radically progressive groups . . . Americans overwhelming support it.
The Political Battle Over Safety
The left will scream that President Trump’s move is authoritarian, that he is trampling on local control, and that he is undermining democracy. These are the same people who cheered when Washington, D.C. defunded its police department, spray-painted social engineering phrases on streets around the White House, backed prosecutors who wouldn’t prosecute, and blamed officers for the crimes of criminals.
Let’s be clear: It is not authoritarian to keep citizens safe from violence. There is nothing undemocratic about letting Americans walk the streets without fear. What is undemocratic is when activist elites force a dangerous ideology on communities that are demanding safety. The only real authoritarianism is the rule of gangs over lawless neighborhoods.
There is nothing free about President Trump’s federalization of Washington, D.C. policing — except it is freedom. Freedom to walk to work without being carjacked. Freedom to open a store without getting robbed. The opportunity to send your kids out to play in the street without their having to dodge bullets.
The Moral Argument
And after all, this is not only a political or policy argument but also a moral one.
Government has an obligation to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. When that arrangement is reversed, when the criminals are championed above the victims, society finds itself in a dangerous space.
That has been the tale in Washington, D.C., and in far too many American cities. Liberal leaders have sided with criminals instead of citizens; ideology, not safety; excuses over accountability. And they have abdicated their most fundamental responsibility – protecting those who they represent regardless of political party, social and economic status, or voting history.
President Donald Trump has gone in the other direction. He has stood with the people and the families who have done nothing, but wish to live peacefully on this earth and in this country. He has sent a message to the criminals: the free ride is over. And he has resolved to establish the moral foundation for government: defending the innocent and prosecuting the guilty.
The Political Ramifications
Make no mistake about it: President Trump’s play is a winner with voters. Poll after poll shows crime ranks as one of the top issues in America, including in urban cities where Democrats have failed most dramatically. Black, Hispanic and working-class voters are the most negatively affected by crime, and they are becoming more receptive to Republican leadership that prioritizes safety.
By federalizing police in Washington, D.C., President Trump has drawn a bold line in the sand: Republicans are the party that stands for law and order; Democrats are the party of chaos and alibis. That contrast wins elections.
Democrats can cry authoritarianism all they want, but then do they really think Americans can’t see the truth? Americans want safe streets; they want police respected, not demonized. The American people want bad guys in jail, not on the streets. And we will reward the party that does.
Okay, Governors and Mayors: Now It’s Your Turn
The warning has been issued. The question now is whether governors and mayors will listen.
If you are a leader in a city plagued by crime, you have two options: Clean up your city, or be prepared for President Trump to do it for you. The choice is yours. But here’s the thing — you have run out of excuses.
Invest in your police. Support your prosecutors. End catch-and-release. Get serious about public safety. Cease pandering to activists and start listening to the concerns of residents.
The obvious path for Republican leaders: double down on law and order. Demonstrate that conservative leadership leads to safety and stability. Point to Washington, D.C., as the case study in what happens when Democrats falter and President Trump acts.
Conclusion
President Donald Trump’s federalization of policing in Washington, D.C., is more than just another break with policy. It's a separating of day and night into law and lawlessness, a stand that America will not bow in shame to chaos, that safety is not optional, and that those in our government will either perform their most fundamental duty or get stone-cold kicked out.
For far too long, Democrats have regarded crime as an abstraction, a talking point, a problem to be managed rather than solved. President Trump has recognized it for what it is: an emergency that requires taking action now.
Already, Washington, D.C., is the first city to bear the brunt of that move. Hopefully, it will be the last.
To all of the mayors and governors in America: end the violence now. Clean up your cities. Support your police. Protect your citizens. If not, President Donald Trump will do it for you — and he won’t say sorry.
Rob Burgess is a national Republican strategist, and Chief Executive Officer at Connector, Inc. – a boutique government relations and political affairs firm with offices in Washington, D.C.