Capture of the capital: Donald Trump brought the National Guard to Washington on the eve of the meeting with Putin

Local authorities in Washington and Democratic lawmakers condemned the initiative of Donald Trump, who ordered the deployment of National Guard units to the American capital, and accused the president of exceeding presidential powers. All this is happening on the eve of the Alaska summit and against the background of a drop in the rating of the head of state. Trump, in turn, claims that Washington is one of the most dangerous cities in America. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

The National Guard has arrived

"Washington, DC has one of the highest crime rates in the world, more than many of the most violent countries," Donald Trump wrote on the Truth Social network.

According to the American leader, the number of violent crimes in the district has increased, and the murder rate has almost doubled in just ten years, and this is only according to official statistics. Trump noted that the District of Columbia has now been taken under control, and assured that the police and military will return security to the city soon.

Photo: REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon

Units of the US National Guard have already begun arriving in the US capital to comply with a special decree from US President Donald Trump.

The military told NBC News that their mission will last until September 25, although the decree of the American leader states that their deployment will cease immediately after he decides that "order and legality in the District of Columbia have been restored." 800 soldiers of the National Guard have been sent to the capital for these purposes.

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Donald Trump announced the decision to introduce the National Guard on August 11 at a press conference at the White House. Colombia's status as a federal district with a unique power structure for the United States allows the president to promote his crime-fighting program without much regard for local authorities.

As the head of state explained, now the police of the American capital will directly report to Attorney General Pam Bondi, and her officers will be allowed to "do whatever the hell they want" in response to possible provocations.

Photo: Global Look Press/Luzia Geier

"This is the only language they [the criminals] understand. They like to spit in the face of the police. You spit, and we strike, a very hard blow," he said.

Trump himself calls his initiative "a historic step to save the capital." He took such measures in response to high-profile crimes, including the murder of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinyan-Dzhakim, who died from a stray bullet, and the attack on a retired official of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Washington: he was wounded while trying to prevent the theft of his car.

The President has the right to take control of the local police for up to 30 days in emergency situations. After that, he must request congressional approval. However, there should be no problems here, since both the House of Representatives and the Senate are under the control of the Republican Party.

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Local authorities are against

Washington is a traditional democratic city: in the 2024 presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris won 90% of the vote. Local authorities and Democratic lawmakers expectedly criticized Trump's decision, accusing him of exceeding his presidential powers.

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Photo: Global Look Press/Michael Nigro

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, called the president's initiative "alarming and unprecedented." She claims that, no matter what, the management model in the capital will not change: her chief, who reports to the mayor's office, will lead the police, and Pam Bondi will receive information about their work.

Hundreds of people protested in Washington in response to Trump's actions.

All this is taking place on the eve of the Russian-American summit in Alaska and against the background of a decrease in the rating of the US president to 40%. This is the lowest figure for the entire second term of his presidency. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that Americans have a mixed opinion of Trump's actions in the field of economics and immigration policy.

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What do the experts think

According to him, in the first six months of 2025, the Washington police reported a 26% decrease in crime compared to the same period last year.

Photo: REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

Victoria Zhuravleva, Deputy director of the IMEMO RAS named after E.M. Primakov, head of the Center for North American Studies, notes in an interview with Izvestia that Donald Trump came to power amid promises to fight crime in the United States.

— This topic is very popular among right-wing conservatives in the Republican Party. And there is nothing legally hindering him. It is clear that everyone is outraged by this, especially liberals. But for his right-wing conservative electorate, this is evidence that this president, unlike others, not only promised, but actually began to do it. This means that these voters can continue to vote for the Republican Party in their state, in Congress. This is the creation of an image of an active politician, which should inherit the image of an active party," the political scientist explained.

American political scientist Stephen Collinson notes that, according to opinion polls, many Americans are skeptical about the use of troops on American territory.

"But such a gambit by Trump would have been impossible if there had been complete peace in the capital. Residents from some particularly troubled areas of the district may respond positively to the police actions, and Greggory Pemberton, chairman of the D.C. Police Union, said his members agreed with Trump that crime in the city was out of control and that "something needs to be done," the expert noted.

Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

According to the expert, the steps taken by Trump "are also a clever political trick."

"Democrats who oppose the president's initiative may be accused of being bad at fighting crime. And critics can refer to statistics that show that crime is decreasing," the analyst concluded.