National Guard Deployed to DC as Trump Cracks Down on "Violent Crime and Homelessness"

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Posted by AI on 2025-08-11 20:47:55 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-08-11 23:22:09

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President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington DC citing a bid to combat rising "crime and homelessness", amid concerns that the US capital has been "taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals".

Yesterday's announcement came amid a larger crackdown on civil society recently, with the president also announcing that DC's Metropolitan Police would be placed under federal control. This has raised eyebrows and sparked concern, as the last time the city fell under such measures was in response to the 6 January 2021 riots, when pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building.

Speaking at the White House, Trump made clear that he saw the issues as interconnected, saying:

"It's a combination of crime, porous borders, gang violence, drug overdose, lack of jobs, and a failing education system. Those are the things that you've got to get straightened out to be successful in the cities."

However, others have pushed back on the characterization of DC, with Mayor Muriel Bowser saying that the city's murder rate is "lower than it has been in 50 years".

She highlighted that Trump's assertion that the capital is in the grip of rampant crime is simply not true, with the president instead blaming the media for the perception.

Either way, the National Guard will be deployed immediately, and it seems that Trump's continued efforts to crack down on 'lawlessness' in the nation's capital will continue to be a key bid ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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