Trump pledged a trap at Democrats. The fight against crime pays off
For many Washington stunters, he seemed to deal with crime in the capital by President Trump seemed to be an opportunistic and rapid move in response to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. But if it was not clear then, now it is: a white house on public security is a deliberate trick to regain narrative In terms of the matter that favors the Republicans before the election in the middle of the term, and already puts Democrats in the corner.
In recent days, the president has even more inclined to the use of the National Guard as elite police forces. He visits soldiers and allows them to be armed in the city. He suggested that the next place of their arrangement would be Chicago and New York. On Sunday, he rushed Governor Maryland Wes Moore for embarrassing crime statistics in Baltimore, suggesting that he could also send the army there.
This is a sign that despite the polls showing how unpopular Trump's moves in Washington itself are, the president plays the public for the public – and It assumes that this is a battle that he and his party can win. If the latest escalation was about persuading Democrats to declare that crime is not a problem what voters will scare away, the leading democrats did not disappoint the president.
On the weekend, democratic Governors JB Pritzker from Illinois and Kathy Hochul from New York issued statements in which they argued that crime in their cities fell or that There is no “crisis” demanding national guard. Other democrats underestimated voters' fears of public security, mocking Trump as a “authoritarian” policy.
The problem is that although some voters may not like political licks, History shows that they don't like to feel dangerous even more. The sight of the growing camp of the homeless and dying drug addicts made many people feel fear.
“Forcing Democrats to defend what you can't defend”
Dan Turrentine, the Democrats strategist and the host of the podcast “The Morning Meeting”, calls crime “issue 80-20”. – as in the case of immigration, Trump found another issue in which the democratic party is in the reverse. They do not want to admit that there is a problem, even though no one in New York, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles or San Francisco would not say that things are doing well – he assesses.
– [Trump] He senses that this is a weakness on the side of the Democrats. And so it is – tells me the republican strategist Karl Rove. – That's it It attracts the attention of the public, he maintains the Epstein case outside the first parties In a lesser extent, the issue of war in Ukraine, and focuses on controversies between the president and democrats from large cities.
The White House official said that Trump is excited about the perspective of “forcing democrats to defend what cannot be defended.” Nobody wants to go outside and worry that he will be attacked or pulled out of the car by force. Democrats will have to “either stand on the side of Donald Trump, or on the side of crime and murders.”
– For the president it is a basic issue of common sense – sums up the official.
From Richard Nixon, Republican policy of hard fight against crime gains the favor of American voters. Their advantage has remained in recent years. In 2022, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin changed the trajectory of his aggressive re -election campaign, attacking his democratic opponent for supporting the abolition of the cash deposit and cutting off police financing. In response, the vice -dealer accused Johnson of hypocrisy, taking into account his support for Trump after the riots at the capitol on January 6. It didn't work anyway.
Attack of Donald Trump's supporters at Capitol, January 6, 2021.
This was followed by a nationwide reaction against progressive district prosecutors, mayors and other local leaders who softened prosecution and adopted decriminalization experiments inspired by George Floyd's protests in 2020, even in liberal cities such as Portland, San Francisco and Chicago, Democratic voters rejected the reforms of the judiciary in criminal matters And they chose officials who in their opinion would be more severe against crime.
Over half of the voters support Donald Trump's hard hand
At the beginning of this month, Harry Enen, a specialist from CNN data, delved into the polls regarding crime and stated that Trump is “like Air Jordan towering over Joem Biden”. While in matters of crime, the balance of support for Biden in 2024 was minus 26 points, Trump had plus one point of favor in August, just before his movements using the national guard.
– says Enten.
Perhaps that is why the Harvard Caps/Harris survey carried out last week showed that 54 percent voters believe that Trump's actions in Washington were “justified and necessary” – And as many think that his show of strength will make this area safer. It is possible that the polls will change. Politics is a pendulum, with republicans in power and Trump breaking norms and exposing officers to the first line, voters can go in a new direction.
Rove himself wonders if this will matter in the middle of the term. Crime is the most important for voters when riots, mass protests and other types of urban unrest occur, argues – something that we do not now see, even if it is the main worry. In addition, “one irony of fate is that when something is successful, this issue tends to distract,” he says. The safer the border is, the less important it is for voters. It is similar with crime.
But Republicans from the capitol support the latest Trump's agenda. To understand why, just look at the election maps. Republicans will fight for fines in the suburbs under important metropolises, such as New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Equally helpful for republicans is that focusing on crime can distract from general economic situation and cuts in healthcarewhich disturb voters.
– Every time we talk about crime, we win – one of the high -ranking members of the National Republican Congress Committee tells me. Democrats, he added, they are already doing what the Republicans were counting on. “They answer with indignation, which is manifested as compassion for criminals” and They quote statistics to argue that crime is no longer a problemwhen “no one really feels it's true.”
Members of the National Guard patrol the area of the monument to Jerzy Washington. Washington, August 25, 2025
This case may become a priority in the coming weeks. We can see how Trump distributes the national guard in other large cities, and Congress can deal with laws related to crime after resuming the meeting in September. The president even suggested that he could go around the legislative path and announce a state of emergency to extend the control over the police in Washingtonwhich after 30 days requires the consent of the Congress. Among the Republicans, it is already said that you have to somehow beat the democrats to the wall.
“I don't feel safe. And you don't want to take care of it”
What is the hope of the American right? That Democrats will unite and vote against the extension of presidential control over Washington or other means of combating crime, and then Republicans will crush them during the campaign as soft towards criminals. Chuck Schumer, the leader of a democratic minority in the Senate, has already rebuked Trump for expanding police rights. I also talked to people in the House of Representatives who predict that the leader of the local minority, Hakeem Jeffries, can discipline all his congressmen to oppose such a center.
The question is, however, whether they should.
Rove says that if the Democrats were clever, they would take the opportunity to overthrow the narrative of “soft against crime”, which the Republicans are pushing. In his opinion, there is an easy model that they could recall. When Clinton was accused of a soft approach to crime in the 90s, He called for employment 100,000 new policemen. Democrats could also indicate that Trump is blocking local funds for policemen.
According to Turrentine, Democrats should say that they agree with Trump about crime, but they suggest you do even more. His suggestion: propose to finance hundreds of thousands of new police officers, reform regulations on the deposit and force local prosecutors to deal with minor crimes. Turrentine criticizes her own party for the lack of such specific solutions. Because although many voters may not like what Trump is doing, they appreciate that they are doing something at all.
The polls suggest that something is wrong. A recent survey conducted by the left -wing Data for Progress group showed that most voters agreed that the demonstration of Trump's strength was “authoritarian” and attempted to divert attention from media problems. However, according to the same group Over half of the respondents agreed with the statement: “Trump does what is necessary to deal with crime”.
– The average voter says: “Common sense tells me that this is a problem. I don't feel safe. And you don't want to take care of it” – Turrentine assesses. In his opinion, the party must wake up. – You know that this matter will hurt you in 2024. You know that public opinion thinks you are soft in the face of crime. You have to do something about it.
