Trump has now declared a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C. He has invoked emergency powers under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, placing the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. He sees this as a “historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor”. He has also announced the deployment of 800 National Guard troops to the Capital. Trump cited a surge in violent crime as justification. In the announcement, he mentioned a recent assault on a government staffer. The problem with all of this is that it contradicts what the data is saying. The data says that violent crime in D.C is down 35 percent and is actually at a 30-year low. Homicides, robberies, and carjackings have all seen a significant decline this year. According to the data, Mayor Muriel Bowser has described the move as unsettling and unprecedented.  Trump called it “Liberation Day”. Many Americans consider this a hostile takeover. When the British troops took over Boston, the citizens did not look upon it as “Liberation Day”; it was an assault on their freedoms and liberty.

 Let’s be clear: this was not a response to a crime wave. Violent crime in D.C. is down 35% from last year. Homicides, robberies, and carjackings have all declined. Looking at the data, the local government is doing a good job. The city is safer than it’s been in over 30 years. Trump’s justification—a single assault on a government staffer—was not a crisis. It was a pretext. This move is unprecedented. Under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, the president can assume control of the Metropolitan Police Department for 48 hours in an emergency. Where is the emergency? Trump has already signaled his intent to extend that control. What’s unfolding is not a temporary intervention—it’s a test of how far executive power can stretch when cloaked in the language of law and order. This is not just about D.C. It’s about the future of federalism, civil liberties, and democratic norms. If a president can unilaterally deploy troops and seize control of a city’s police based on dubious claims, what stops him from doing so elsewhere? What checks remain?

 Supporters argue that Trump is restoring order. But order without accountability is authoritarianism. The real danger is not the troops on the ground—it’s the normalization of executive overreach. I have been to Washington, D.C., and  I have walked all around the National Mall at night and then back to my hotel. I felt safe the entire time. I have taken the subway and found it well patrolled, and it was kept immaculate. I saw the homeless and was never intimidated by them, though I was saddened that even in our capital, there were not enough services in place to take care of the problem. It is an embarrassment that the so-called greatest country on earth doesn’t work at solving the homeless and mental health problems that are all over the country, let alone our capital. Treating the homeless like criminals is not the thing to do, let alone the Christian thing to do.

Could all of this be just a smoke screen? The data doesn’t match the rhetoric. When the data doesn’t match the rhetoric, it raises the question: What is the real motive? Trump has a long history of dramatic gestures to energize his base. Is this to shift attention away from the economic problems that we are having? He ran on the pledge that he was going to lower prices from day one. Anyone who has been to a grocery store knows that prices are rising and not coming down. I have not seen a single thing being done to lower our prices. He lowered taxes for billionaires, but because of his tariffs, it is a hidden tax on the middle class and the poor, because we have to pay more for just about everything. Could it be that he has failed to end the war in Ukraine that he said he would end in 24 hours? Is it to shift attention away from the Epstein files? He ran on transparency and said that he would make the Epstein files public. Could it be to deflect attention away from Ghislaine Maxwell and the fact that he transferred a person convicted to 20 years for trafficking young girls to a minimum-security prison? He could be trying to avoid legal and ethical controversies that are dogging his presidency. Creating a spectacle in our nation's capital can dominate headlines and drown out scrutiny elsewhere. This may be an effort at political retaliation disguised as public safety.

Declaring “Liberation Day” and deploying troops plays into a narrative of strength and control, but it is only an illusion. We know that the National Guard does not have the authority to arrest people and that they will be limited to protecting federal landmarks and buildings that are not under threat. The last time a federal building was under attack was January 6^th, 2021, when he sent domestic terrorists to try and overthrow Congress and steal the election, and he didn’t call up the National Guard. He pardoned all of those domestic terrorists. His tough talk sounds good at a press conference. He may also be testing the boundaries of Executive Powers.  D.C is uniquely vulnerable because it is not a state, making it an easy proving ground for federal overreach.

Supporters argue that Trump is restoring order. But order without accountability is authoritarianism or what many would call fascism. The real danger is not the troops on the ground—it’s the normalization of executive overreach. We must not mistake this moment for routine politics because it isn’t normal at all. It is a warning shot. And if we fail to respond, we risk watching the foundations of our democracy erode under the weight of manufactured emergencies just like this manufactured emergency.