Video of armed federal officers meandering round Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening is as soon as once more refuting President Donald Trump’s lie that the nation’s capital is going through a surge of violent crime.
“Not much going on here, so maybe they’re practicing,” a civilian tells the digicam crew.
The video provides to rising proof that Trump’s choice to ship federal legislation enforcement and the Nationwide Guard to Washington, the place crime has been declining and hit a 30-year low final yr, is a waste of time and sources meant to generate headlines and distract from his varied scandals.
The administration engaged in related conduct a couple of months in the past, when federal brokers and Nationwide Guard troops had been deployed to Los Angeles after Trump and his workforce wished extra visuals to show they had been cracking down on immigration.
Nationwide Guard troops arrive on the District of Columbia Nationwide Guard Headquarters on Aug. 12.
For Trump, although, the visuals of closely armed brokers are preferable to going through questions on his administration’s ongoing effort to cover-up the federal government’s recordsdata on accused intercourse trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, together with Trump’s potential connections to the alleged felony endeavor.
The White Home has additionally disseminated a chart with cherry-picked knowledge on worldwide homicide charges in an try and justify the invasion of Washington. White Home Communications Director Steven Cheung even alleged that police knowledge displaying a decline in crime was faux—however didn’t hassle to quote any credible proof to show his critical allegation.
The conspiratorial accusations are a well-worn a part of the Trump playbook. He’s additionally claiming that poor jobs numbers, largely brought on by his tariffs, are a part of a conspiracy. And he has famously lied that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and has even falsely alleged that his approval scores have elevated over the Epstein scandal once they have gone down.
The Washington incursion has no justification, and the visuals are actually reinforcing that actuality—so the administration is pivoting to conspiracy, as all the time.
