One of the many accomplishments of the young Trump administration has been the remarkable reduction in crime in several of the nation’s cities. Democrats, of course, are beside themselves. They claim that deploying the National Guard to LA, DC and Memphis is unconstitutional and also a violation of the Posse Comitatus law which limits military use for policing activities.
What are the receipts? Sending in the National Guard is a risky choice. Trump’s choice of Washington DC for the first site for this exercise was a good one since the federal government is ultimately responsible for the city. It was also a good choice since crime was out of control in DC. The result was an almost unbelievable drop in the crime rate. Violent crime dropped nearly 50%. Homicide actually disappeared from DC for the longest period in decades.
The mayor, a Democrat of course, actually praised the results. It should be noted that she had opposed the “defund the police” movement there. People actually felt safe enough to venture out of their homes in the evening. This is a substantial change in the perceived safety of life in DC and welcomed by the residents there.
The situation in LA was different. Here federal employees (mostly ICE) were being left to defend themselves from violent criminals. Local law enforcement was either unable or unwilling to take steps to protect lives and property. PDJT has an obligation to protect these people as head of the federal government.
Although the step of calling in the Guard was challenged in court, even the very liberal Ninth Circuit had to agree that PDJT was well within his authorities to do so. Again the mere presence of the Guard resulted in a drop in violent crime. ICE deporting violent criminals has also had a significant effect of this dynamic. It also seems to have reduced some of the traffic issues in the LA area.
Memphis was another different situation. The governor specifically asked for the Guard to help the local police get control of the streets. This turned out to be another resounding success ans violent crime dropped to rates not seen in decades.
President Trump has proved that a more robust approach to fighting crime can produce positive results. This approach has made the streets safer for citizens of D.C., Los Angeles and Memphis. And this is why the Democrats are so opposed to this. It proves that their soft-on-crime policies that have been prevalent in Democrat-run cities for the past decade are not the right course of action.
Where to next? Currently Guard deployments are scheduled for Portland and Chicago, two cities with hard left mayors. The courts recently cleared the way for the Guard to deploy to Portland to protect federal employees and property. The Chicago situation is still in the courts.
A question needs to be asked of the mayors and governors of these crime ridden cities. That question is why do you oppose safe cities?
Some fear the taking over of the country by the military. However, despite all the emotion-laden rhetoric, the National Guard have, so far, functioned within the confines of their orders (and the Constitution). They have limited their activities to defending federal assets of property and personnel.
What has been exposed is the criminal nature of Antifa in Portland. Antifa has now been labeled a domestic terrorist organization, a labeling that has long been overdue. What also has been revealed to the country is that Chicago’s mayor and Illinois’ governor are individuals who enable criminals. Chicago is enroute to more than 600 homicides this year unless some intervention takes place. Why are these people opposed to reducing crime?
With intervention that helps reduce the crime rate, perhaps the mayor and governor could focus on fixing Chicago’s public education system which is currently in a stranglehold by Chicago’s public education teachers’ unions.
A recent report pointed out the abysmal state of that:
So, zero students are proficient but they are graduating anyway. This is beyond ludicrous. The Democrats like this because they know that these people will believe any lie they tell them. Do not expect any improvement here without a major shakeup of public education in Chicago and that means a change in the political leadership.
Perhaps the National Guard intervening could wake up the public to a different possible reality. Oops, there goes Pritzker’s dreams of a White House gig.