On Monday, President Donald Trump announced his plan to invoke Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, declare a public emergency, and federalize the D.C. Police Department. Under Trump’s plan, the department would be placed under Justice Department control to take on what he accurately describes as the rampant crime consuming our nation’s capital.
It’s a bold, no-nonsense move to tackle the violent crime that’s made Washington, D.C., a place where residents and visitors think twice before walking after dark. But instead of backing an effort to make their own backyard safer, Democrats stuck to their “resist Trump” script, absurdly claiming crime is under control. Even the diehard Trump-haters at MSNBC had to admit he was right — proof that the problem is too big to spin away.
On “Morning Joe” earlier this week, Joe Scarborough read a text message he’d just received from “someone very liberal” — someone whose politics you would expect to be reflexively opposed to anything Trump does. Yet even this person couldn’t ignore what’s happening in the nation’s capital.
“This may sound controversial,” Scarborough read, “but I’m not totally opposed to Trump’s National Guard move in D.C. I know he’s doing it for politics, but crime remains rampant. I’ve had too many friends carjacked, shot at. None of us will walk more than three blocks after 8:00 p.m. Thirteen-year-olds are committing many of these crimes, quite a change from a decade ago when things were much calmer.”
Scarborough admitted the description rang true to him. “Well, that actually sounds like the D.C that I lived in when I lived a block behind, um, the Supreme Court and, you know, every three days, one of my neighbors was getting held up at gunpoint. I mean, there has been a crime problem in D.C. At the same time, obviously, a lot of concerns,” he said.
That’s not exactly the kind of rhetoric you hear from MSNBC when it comes to Trump. This is the same guy who insisted last year that Joe Biden was cogent and the best he's ever been intellectually and analytically. When it comes to pushing the Democrat talking points, Scarborough's an expert. But apparently, it's harder to deny the reality of crime in D.C. than it was for Scarborough to pretend that Joe Biden was at the top of his game. That says a lot.
🚨NEW: MSNBC's Joe Scarborough reads aloud text from "VERY LIBERAL" person *UNLOADING* on DC crime🚨
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) August 12, 2025
"He says, 'This may sound controversial — but I’m not totally opposed to Trump’s National Guard move in D.C.'"
"'I know he’s doing it for politics — but crime remains rampant.'"… pic.twitter.com/pAzE7iELcY
He wasn’t the only one, either. Chris Matthews, who could never be described as a Trump cheerleader, dismantled one of the Democrats’ favorite talking points about crime. “And the murder rate,” he said, “you can’t keep saying violent crime is down, but the murder rate’s up.”
Matthews pointed out what should be obvious to anyone outside the political bubble: “To the average person, the murder rate is about life and death. You don’t brag about a rising murder rate. And the Democrats are — I agree with you, Mika — they’re falling into the trap of defending what’s indefensible.”
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Mika Brzezinski didn’t disagree. “It’s a trap. Yes, it’s a trap,” she said. “It’s not a winner politically, uh, to say, ‘Oh, you’re wrong. Look at the data.’ Because, you know, if one violent crime happens in a very heavily populated part of the city, people hear about it, and it’s visceral. They don’t want it and they want to — they’ll gravitate to the person who appears to be doing something about it.”
💡The moment when MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and Mika Brzezinski finally realize Democrats have been duped by Trump into defending violent crime in DC:
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) August 13, 2025
“It’s a trap!" pic.twitter.com/J3AlvIKGHA
When MSNBC, a network that usually bends over backward to downplay or dismiss President Trump’s policies, is openly conceding that Washington’s crime problem is out of control, you know it’s bad. Crime in D.C. isn’t some abstract policy debate; it’s personal for the people who live there. And when those people see Trump taking action, whether it’s deploying the National Guard or simply acknowledging the problem, they’re more likely to back him than the politicians telling them their fears are unfounded.
When liberals on MSNBC start sounding more like Rudy Giuliani circa 1994 than the progressive activists running the city today, it’s a clear sign reality is breaking through the partisan fog. And maybe, just maybe, the left should spend less time blindly opposing Trump.
When even Trump-hating MSNBC admits D.C. is a crime-infested disaster, you know the liberal media's narrative is crumbling. Join PJ Media VIP with promo code FIGHT for 60% off and access exclusive content that exposes what the mainstream media won't touch. Don't wait — join today and support fearless conservative journalism.
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