President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday morning to announce a press conference on Monday that he claimed would end violent crime in the nation’s capital.
“On Monday a Press Conference will be held at the White House which will, essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, D.C.” said Trump. “It has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World. It will soon be one of the safest!!!”
This comes after a Thursday announcement from the White House that it will utilize federal law enforcement on the streets of Washington. Trump said the ramp-up of security would last for seven days, “with the option to extend as needed.” On Wednesday, Trump threatened to take charge of the city’s police force following an attempted hijacking in which an administration staffer was injured.
Last weekend, a member of the Department of Government Efficiency, Edward Coristine, nicknamed “Big Balls,” was assaulted by a group of teenagers. Police have detained two 15-year-olds and have said they’re still looking for other members of the group.
“If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run, and put criminals on notice that they’re not going to get away with it anymore,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this week.
Trump said Saturday that a Monday press conference would mean the end of violent crime in the nation’s capital (AP)
Trump didn’t specifically say what the press conference would include. He has, in recent months, claimed that violent crime was taking over Washington, and he has threatened to send in the National Guard.
This week, he told reporters that he may attempt to repeal Washington’s limited “home rule” and that he’s considering “bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly.”
Between 2023 and 2024, rates of violent crime dropped 35 percent in Washington, the lowest rates in more than three decades, according to the Department of Justice. This year, violent crime has continued to decrease, down 26 percent year-over-year, according to data released on August 8 by the Metropolitan Police Department.
Violent crime has dropped significantly in Washington in the last several years (AFP via Getty Images)
William McGinley served as the White House cabinet secretary during Trump’s first term. He took to X on Saturday to back up the president, saying that Trump “is taking concrete steps to make the Nation’s Capital safe, beautiful, and a capital worthy of this great nation.”
“Democrats will hurl spurious insults about these moves but the blame for DC’s failures lies with the Democrats,” he added. “They know it. Do not be distracted. Hold the line and take action to support this move.”
Juan Carlos Green, a community engagement manager at the DC public charter school board, wrote that “DC residents elect leaders to govern our city, and not the White House. We deserve the same right to self-govern as every state.”
A White House official said that more than 120 members of a number of federal agencies were set to be on duty in Washington on Friday night.
“This is the first step in stopping the violent crime that has been plaguing the streets of Washington, D.C.,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
