Washington residents and statistics contradict Trump: ‘I’ve never felt threatened’

Donald Trump claims he’s going to “liberate” Washington, D.C., from crime. To achieve this, he’s deploying at least 800 National Guard troops and taking control of the local police force. The Republican, who has been harassing the capital for months, maintains that the city is experiencing a “crisis of violence,” even though no one knows where he gets his data from, as the statistics show the lowest crime rate in the last 30 years. And residents don’t recognize their own city in the president’s words, who, during a press conference Monday, described the capital as “unsafe, dirty, and disgusting.”

“D.C. is a safe city; what he’s saying doesn’t make sense. I’ve lived here for 25 years, and I don’t think what he’s announced is necessary. Washington, D.C., is a beautiful city and it’s not dirty,” says Alison Deschryver, while walking her dog in a park in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, northwest of the city. A business consultant, she was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but has spent most of her 47 years in the District of Columbia, where she has lived in diverse neighborhoods such as downtown DuPont Circle and Eastern Market, in the heart of the historic Capitol Hill neighborhood. “I’ve never felt threatened,” she says.

The presence of the National Guard, however, does make her uneasy. “As a citizen of Washington, D.C., I feel like it’s an imposition. I’m worried about my children being able to go to school on their own, now that they’re old enough to be independent. With this increased police presence, I don’t know if I’ll be able to let them walk alone.” She points to the last time the National Guard was seen deployed on the streets of the capital, in the wake of the September 11 attacks: “When it was truly necessary,” she adds.

The deployment of troops is intended to combat a supposed emergency that has turned the capital into a hotbed of violence where thieves, rapists, and murderers run rampant, according to Trump’s account, justifying his takeover of the city’s police force.

However, total violent crime in the District of Columbia in 2024 decreased by 35% compared to 2023 and is the lowest in more than 30 years, according to data compiled by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and released by the government in January. In addition to the overall reduction in violent crime, homicides are down 32%; robberies, 39%; armed carjackings, 53%; and assaults with weapons, 27%, compared to 2023 levels.

“D.C. is a very safe city. Crime is always present, but the trend is clearly downward,” says John Linko, 58, also a consultant, but a political one (at the center of the country’s political power, consultants, lobbyists, and lawyers abound). Originally from New York, he settled more than two decades ago in Georgetown, one of the city’s most well-kept and picturesque neighborhoods. It’s hard to imagine the “dirtiness” of the city when strolling through its tree-lined streets, where rows of colorful houses are home to many of the capital’s politicians and personalities.

“He’s just talking nonsense. Next thing you know, he’ll be chasing unicorns that have gone mad, or maybe elves that are shrinking... He’s just making things up. There’s no data to back it up,” says Linko. “If the city can be made safer, then great. But it seems to me that this is someone trying to start out like authoritarian regimes do. I can see him replicating this in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco,” he says.

In San Francisco, the trial against the administration for the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles, which Trump ordered in June in response to protests over immigration raids, began Monday. Some 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines occupied the country’s second most populous city. Most of the troops have already left, but 250 National Guard remain, according to the latest figures provided by the Pentagon.

Trump’s statements about the alleged widespread insecurity in the U.S. capital began in the wake of an attack on a member of Elon Musk’s team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Edward Coristine was the victim of an attempted robbery, and police arrested two 15-year-olds as the alleged perpetrators. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a Trump appointee who oversees most D.C. crimes, claimed that the nation’s capital protects violent youth. Last week, she joined the president in advocating for 14-year-olds to be tried as adults (currently, only 15-year-olds can be tried).

Residents interviewed by this newspaper acknowledge that, as in any city, crimes occur, but they don’t feel unsafe. This is also confirmed by stylist Markia Morris, born in D.C. 26 years ago. Accompanied by an eight-year-old girl and her dog, she says she feels very safe in the city. So much so that her daughter can go to the park alone. “Washington, D.C., is not a dangerous area. It used to be, but not anymore. There are many good places to live.” For her, the deployment of 800 National Guard troops “is crazy.”

The taking of a Democratic city

Trump claims that not even tourists want to visit D.C. because of the violence. But several people who stroll along the National Mall, the esplanade that stretches between 3rd Street, near the Capitol, and 14th Street, and houses museums, sculptures, and memorials, such as those of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., claim otherwise.

“I don’t see any insecurity on the streets, nor do I see people who might disturb your peace. I don’t know about nighttime, in certain neighborhoods…” says a 31-year-old Spanish tourist who prefers not to be identified because he works for an American company. The woman accompanying him believes that, on the contrary, the current administration is scaring away tourists. “There are Spaniards who don’t want to come to the United States because of Donald Trump, because of his policies.”

“Isn’t it more of a political issue about winning the votes of the people who live here?” he wonders, trying to find a suitable explanation. The truth is that the Republican has a tough time in D.C. More than 90% of voters supported the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, in the November 2024 elections.

Since 1973, Washington, D.C., has operated under a form of limited self-government thanks to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. Trump has repeatedly threatened the city’s mayor, Democrat Muriel Bowser, who has since yielded to the president’s pressure. Among other measures, Bowser removed D.C.’s sanctuary city designation, which protects migrants, in line with the Republican’s anti-immigration campaign.

On Monday, the mayor responded to the takeover of local police by saying she would comply with the law regarding the “supposed emergency,” although she indicated that Trump’s actions justified the District of Columbia becoming a state with legal protections against such maneuvers. “While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can’t say that given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we’re totally surprised,” she said.

In addition to authorizing the deployment of the National Guard, Trump, flanked by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and FBI Director Kash Patel, announced that he would dismantle homeless encampments, though he did not specify where they would be relocated.

Linko believes the city’s 700,000 residents won’t be too upset by the guards’ presence because, as the center of political power, D.C. is accustomed to visiting leaders, protests, and increased security as a result, but it will depend on how they react.

“If they start showing up with masks on, as some troops have now or like ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers, walking into places and randomly grabbing people, it’s very similar to the transition from Weimar Germany in 1933 to the next phase, which wasn’t very good. My frustration is that these policies are based on fantastical numbers that have nothing to do with the data. They’re pure science fiction, nothing to do with history,” he says.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition