Trump’s war on the Smithsonian reveals that this is about childish resentment, not safety
Ever since Donald Trump orchestrated a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s law enforcement, complete with the National Guard being shipped in from at least three red states, defenders of the nation’s capital have painstakingly demonstrated this is a political stunt and is not about stopping crime.
Critics have noted that the troops and agents have been concentrated in low-crime tourist areas, mostly ignoring high-crime neighborhoods where they could actually help. City officials have pointed out the city’s crime rate was already at a 30-year low. Polls show that, far from feeling secure, most D.C. residents say Trump’s actions make them feel less safe. People are so afraid that local restaurants have reported a plummet in reservations, as frightened folks stay at home rather than deal with bored and angry law enforcement.
As usual, the White House’s response is to lie about all of this. Trump and his goons say restaurant traffic is up, which is hilariously false. Vice President J.D. Vance said, “Let’s free D.C. from lawlessness.” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller had a screeching meltdown on camera, insisting only “stupid white hippies” are mad about the takeover, and declaring that Black people love him and the president for their actions. In reality, 80% of Black D.C. residents oppose the troop deployment. Fox News dutifully claims this is all about “crime” — ignoring that the agents sent onto the streets are mostly harassing ordinary people, while ignoring actual crime.
What’s a little unclear, however, is who this phony Republican talk about “crime” is for. It’s certainly not for liberals or even centrists, who appear to understand full well that Trump is trying to terrorize the innocent people of D.C., not to fight crime. But it’s not like the MAGA base cares about the “crime” non-issue either. Don’t get me wrong: The MAGA base loves this so-called “crackdown.” But not because it’s making D.C. safe. They love that it’s making D.C. miserable. They appear to know the victims of this charade aren’t criminals, but ordinary people just trying to live their lives. MAGA is getting sadistic joy out of terrorizing ordinary people whose only “crime” is living in a diverse, vibrant and majority Democratic city, instead of Cracker Barrel America.
Videos of the new law enforcement harassing or even beating innocent residents of D.C. have circulated heavily online, but it’s not just liberals who sharing them. Trump supporters love these videos, and, if anything, they are sharing them more than liberals. The right-wing Daily Wire shared a video of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents telling a woman that she’s fat, and it has nearly 250,000 likes on TikTok. Fox News posted a video of ICE agents tearing down an anti-Trump banner, and it now has nearly 5 million views, mostly from conservatives who are relishing this overt violation of basic First Amendment rights. Another MAGA influencer collected over 3.5 million views on a video of homeless people having their tents bulldozed. MAGA influencers also celebrated a video of federal agents yelling at a man for smoking on his patio, calling it “illicit activities” for people to be outside in their own neighborhoods.
