On Tuesday’s Morning Joe on MSNBC, host Symone Sanders Townsend pushed back on the idea that more police automatically make streets safer, while discussing President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration placing Washington, D.C.’s police force under federal control. The move came as Trump cited what he called a crime emergency in the nation’s capital.
“I do not always think that more police make streets safer,” Sanders Townsend said after co-host Joe Scarborough asked if she believed additional officers could improve public safety. She argued that neighborhoods like Georgetown do not rely on heavy police presence to maintain safety and suggested rethinking the definition of security, particularly in areas such as Southeast D.C.’s Ward 8.
While Sanders Townsend distanced herself from “defund the police” rhetoric—calling it “never good”—she emphasized wanting law enforcement to respond without suspecting residents of wrongdoing. She expressed concern that Trump’s emergency declaration could set a precedent for broad presidential power to define and act on “emergencies” without clear limits.
Scarborough countered by noting that many Black city council members in New York City opposed police cuts, saying their communities needed officers the most. Sanders Townsend acknowledged the point but maintained her skepticism toward Trump’s stated reasoning for the federal takeover, framing it as more rhetoric than reality.
Trump’s declaration marks a rare federal intervention in local policing, giving the president temporary control over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. Supporters argue it addresses rising crime, while critics see it as an overreach with political undertones.
