Democrats thought they could hide their disastrous crime policies forever.
But Trump just pulled back the curtain on their failures in the most embarrassing way possible.
And Donald Trump exposed one awful problem for Democrats that has them reeling.
Trump takes control while Democrats scramble to defend the indefensible
President Trump didn’t waste time with the usual Washington bureaucracy when he federalized the D.C. police force and deployed the National Guard to America’s capital city.
"This dire public safety crisis stems directly from the abject failures of the city’s local leadership," Trump declared from the White House. "The Democrats are weak on crime. Totally weak on crime."
The move sent Democrats into full damage control mode, desperately trying to defend their record on an issue where they’ve been getting crushed for years.
Even liberal NPR admitted that crime has become a "political sore spot for Democrats" who have struggled to counter Republican messaging on law and order.
NPR’s coverage of Trump’s decision perfectly captured the Democrat Party’s panic as they realized Trump had just cornered them on their most vulnerable issue.¹
While Democrats scrambled to dispute crime statistics and blame Trump for "distracting" from other issues, the President was already signaling that other Democrat-run cities could be next.
Democrats can’t escape their "defund the police" disaster
The timing of Trump’s move was brilliant – and Democrats know it.
For years, they’ve been trying to distance themselves from the "defund the police" movement that exploded after George Floyd’s death in 2020.
But Trump isn’t letting them forget who really supported dismantling law enforcement when criminals were terrorizing American cities.
Even former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who cut the NYPD budget by $1 billion, admitted the Democrat Party created "a much bigger opening for Trump to make this a winning issue."
"Democrats are still climbing out of the hole that was created by too much silence and too much support for defunding the police," said Jonathan Cowan from the centrist think tank Third Way.²
The numbers don’t lie either.
Exit polling from the 2024 election showed voters trusted Trump over Kamala Harris on crime and safety issues.
A Gallup poll found that most Americans consider crime an "extremely" or "very serious" problem.³
Democrats spent years telling Americans that crime wasn’t really that bad while their policies made cities less safe.
The truth about Democrat "criminal justice reform"
Here’s what Democrats don’t want you to know about their approach to crime.
While they talk about "holistic" solutions and worry about "income flows" and "community policing," criminals are running wild in the streets.
Trump repeatedly pointed to cashless bail as a key driver of rising crime – something Democrat prosecutors have pushed in cities across the country.
These aren’t complicated policy debates.
This is about keeping violent criminals locked up instead of releasing them back onto the streets to terrorize more victims.
Political science professor James Morone from Brown University perfectly captured the Democrat problem: "It’s very hard to get that message across when someone is yelling, ‘Let’s just lock ’em all up.’"⁴
That’s because normal Americans understand that public safety comes first.
You can’t have community programs if the community isn’t safe to begin with.
Republicans have been beating Democrats on this issue for decades
The Republican advantage on crime isn’t new, but Trump just made it impossible for Democrats to hide behind their usual talking points.
By taking direct federal control of Washington D.C.’s police force, Trump forced Democrats to either support law and order or defend failed local leadership.
"The Republicans have sort of played this like a fiddle for generations," complained former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.⁵
But this isn’t about political games – it’s about results.
Trump’s move exposes the fundamental choice between protecting law-abiding citizens and coddling criminals.
Democrats chose poorly, and now they’re paying the price.
Former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp, one of the few Democrats willing to be honest about the issue, pointed out her party’s biggest problem: "I think it’s really dangerous to say this is a perception problem. That’s insulting to the people who don’t feel safe."⁶
When Democrats call crime concerns a "perception problem," they’re telling victims their experiences don’t matter.
That’s not a winning message for any political party.
Trump’s decision to federalize D.C. police wasn’t just about addressing crime in the nation’s capital.
It was about forcing Democrats to defend policies that most Americans reject.
And judging by their panicked response, Trump succeeded in exposing just how weak Democrats really are when it comes to keeping Americans safe.
¹ Elena Moore, "Trump’s return to ‘law and order’ highlights a sore spot for Democrats: crime policy," NPR, August 20, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
