The Liberation Day debate in Washington, D.C., intensified after President Donald Trump announced federal control of the Metropolitan Police Department and mobilized the National Guard to combat violent crime. While Democrats labeled the move “racism and subjugation,” a resurfaced May Washington Post/Schar School poll shows black and low-income residents are “significantly more” concerned about crime than white and higher-income residents.
The poll revealed that black women remain among the most concerned, with 65% saying crime is a very or extremely serious issue. The divide comes as Trump vows to “reestablish law, order, and public safety” in the capital, following years of violent crime spikes, including a 35% rise in homicides, 67% rise in robberies, and 82% surge in carjackings in 2023.
Democrats in D.C. blasted the move, with Mayor Muriel Bowser calling it “unsettling and unprecedented,” and Attorney General Brian Schwalb labeling it “unnecessary” and “unlawful.” D.C. Young Democrats president Jamal Holtz accused Republicans of trying to take power over a “democratic Black-led city with majority Black and brown people.”
Despite political pushback, crime concerns remain high in the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. On Monday night, a shooting critically injured one person near anti-Trump protests. Trump, however, stood firm on his stance, declaring, “This is Liberation Day in D.C. And we’re going to take our capital back.”
