Trump to DC: Public safety isn’t optional

Washington, D.C., the capital meant to project American power, order, and pride, has instead become a showcase for failure.

For decades, Democrats have run this city. They’ve had the budget, the manpower, and the authority to make it safe. Yet today, open-air drug markets operate within sight of the Capitol. Carjackings happen in broad daylight. Businesses flee, joined by residents who refuse to live as prisoners in their own neighborhoods. The District of Columbia is now more dangerous than Colombia — the country Americans were once warned not to visit. That’s how far the city’s leadership has let it slide.

This is the Democrats’ signature failure: mistaking ‘less bad’ for success.

President Donald Trump on Monday called an end to the decline. Invoking Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, he took control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed 800 National Guard troops to the capital. He called it “Liberation Day.” It’s long overdue.

The left calls it “overreach” and “authoritarianism.” Nonsense. What’s truly authoritarian is forcing law-abiding citizens to live under constant threat while political leaders hide behind press conferences and meaningless task forces.

Yes, official crime stats show improvement. Homicides are down. Carjackings have eased. But ask the people who live here: They still avoid certain streets, they still walk with their heads on a swivel, and they still don’t feel safe. If residents can’t walk home at night without fear, nothing has been solved — the numbers have just been padded.

This is the Democrats’ signature failure: mistaking “less bad” for success. Shaving a few percentage points off violent crime is not a victory. A city is either safe or it isn’t. And D.C. isn’t.

RELATED: History podcaster Dan Carlin angers fans with his response to Trump’s takeover of DC police

Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Here’s the truth they don’t want to face: If you can’t control crime in your own backyard, you have no business running a state — and you sure don’t belong running the country.

Trump’s move sends a message to every failing blue city: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles — if you won’t protect your people, I will. Most Americans will applaud that, because they’re tired of leaders who obsess over optics while their cities collapse into chaos.

Leadership is measured by results, not excuses. If you can’t deliver safety, you’ve failed at the most basic job of governing.

Liberation Day isn’t political theater. It’s proof that decisive action still exists in a political culture addicted to talk. It’s a reminder that law and order are not dirty words. And it tells the American people they don’t have to accept leaders who shrug at decline.

D.C. hasn’t seen leadership like that in years. That’s why Trump had to show up with the cavalry.