In Florida on Tuesday, Donald Trump doubled down on a dictatorial threat to “take over” the nation’s capital if he wins in November, suggesting he’d usurp power from local officials in Washington to run the city as he and his MAGA acolytes please.
Trump, a convicted criminal himself, made the ominous vow at a rally in Doral while delivering an unhinged rant about purportedly rampant crime in Washington. He claimed that his administration will “take over the horribly run capital of our country,” which he said is a “nightmare of murder and crime” where you go to see tourist attractions but “end up getting shot, mugged, raped.”
It’s funny how MAGA men like Trump portray themselves as tough guys, yet make simple excursions in cities sound like harrowing ordeals.
It’s funny how MAGA men like Trump portray themselves as tough guys, yet make simple excursions in cities sound like harrowing ordeals.
In reality, the violent crime rate in D.C. has fallen dramatically since last year, when conservatives led a hysterical push to overturn criminal justice reforms in the city. And Washington’s overall crime has shown similar decreases in 2024.
Nonetheless, this takeover threat from Trump matches one he made at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, where he said the feds should take control of D.C. and added that he “wouldn’t even call the mayor.” He has made similar threats toward other cities — and threatened to send in the military.
The impression he has tried to spread is that these cities are incapable of governing themselves. And this fits a dubious trend of trying to install conservative rule by fiat: Republicans nationwide have tried — sometimes successfully — to strip power from liberal officials (often Black officials).
As for Trump, his vows to use military-style crackdowns that resemble martial law are particularly disturbing in light of two things: the recent Supreme Court decision granting presidents immunity for things deemed “official acts,” and the conservative movement’s idolization of brutal dictators like El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, who is known for deploying torture and arbitrary detention under the guise of fighting crime.
If Trump wins and is empowered with the conservative justices’ newly contrived idea of presidential immunity, we could see similar scenes playing out in cities nationwide, all at his behest.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.