Black leaders feel under siege after Trump's D.C. takeover

Politico

3 days ago

What up, Recast fam. On today's agenda:
Donald Trump's unprecedented takeover of Washington, D.C.'s police force is testing the limits of his presidential authority and ratcheting up fears that other cities also led by Black elected officials will soon be caught in his crosshairs.
Trump, citing flimsy and misleading statistics, declared a 'crime emergency' in the nation's capital, seizing control over local law enforcement from three-term Mayor Muriel Bowser and deploying some 800 National Guard troops to city streets.
'This is Liberation Day in D.C. and we're going to take our capitol back,' Trump proclaimed, echoing World War II-era language associated with emancipation of Italy from facism and the German Nazi occupation. Trump added that his action would 'rescue our nation from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.'
The National Guard troops, who will work alongside the Metropolitan Police officers, will be tasked with clearing homeless encampments, protecting landmarks and keeping order in the city. It's an unprecedented presidential power grab that Bowser herself said is unnecessary, but has very little recourse to stop given the 'special conditions' outlined in the Home Rule Act.
While Trump's supporters have cheered him on, his detractors say the move is nothing more than the president, once again, leaning into racist tropes to cast Black elected officials as incompetent and minority citizens as threats to society. During his wide-ranging press conference, Trump also singled out Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Oakland — all of which have Black mayors and large minority populations that overwhelmingly voted against him in his three presidential runs — as crime ridden.
'He has never thought well of Black elected leaders, and he's been explicit about that,' said Maya Wiley, the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. She added that she views Trump's actions as a tactic to undermine liberal dissent.
'It's also clear from his previous statements that he has always searched for excuses to assert might over places he does not have political support and that will not just do his bidding,' she added. 'Washington, D.C., has been one of those cities.'
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Bowser worked to quell tensions between her and Trump stemming from his first term. This included painting over the yellow letters of the city's Black Lives Matter Plaza, which was formed in a response to police brutality during the national protests of 2020. Prior to Trump's inauguration she traveled to Mar-a-Lago to discuss possible areas of collaboration.
In late April, Bowser helped lure the Washington Commanders NFL franchise from suburban Maryland back to D.C., with Trump cheering the move in a social media post as a 'HUGE WIN' for the city and it's 'incredible fan base.' Days later, she appeared with him at the White House to announce the city would host the NFL Draft in 2027. (Last month, Trump injected himself again by threatening to scuttle the deal to bring the football team back to D.C. if the team didn't return to its original name, which is considered a racial slur against Native Americans.)
None of that appears to have deterred Trump from launching his federal takeover.
'I think this is a moment for the mayor to question whether her strategy, which has been appeasement, has been a success,' said Paul Butler, a Georgetown law professor and former federal prosecutor.
He described Trump's actions as a 'bogus declaration' but suggested there is likely little reprieve D.C. officials will gain trying to challenge the president's declaration in court.
'While the court reviews whether he appropriately has this power, the Supreme Court and other lower courts [have] generally allowed him to … proceed with what he wants to do, until they get around to deciding the case,' Butler added. 'It opens the doors to further militarization of the police, not just in the District, but in the other cities that he named.'
This is not the first time Trump has ignored the wishes of local officials and deployed federal troops. During the height of federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, which sparked protests that turned violent, Trump federalized some 2,000 California Guard troops against the wishes of Mayor Karen Bass, who is Black, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told The Recast that Trump's actions in D.C. and his singling out of other Black-led jurisdictions, including his own, is nothing more than a 'diversion and distraction tactic' to shift the focus from a volatile economic climate and the release of materials associated with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
'It's also the continuation of the president, unfortunately, spouting these racist-based, right-wing propaganda talking points about cities and Black-led cities,' said Scott, who last month said his city is in the midst of a historic reduction in violent crime. 'For the president to say that we're too far gone — it's just obscene, obnoxious and just not based in reality.'
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a combat veteran, chastised Trump for using military personnel for political gain.
'These actions by the president lack both data and a battle plan,' Moore said in a statement. '[The president] is simply using honorable men and women as pawns to distract us from his policies, which continue to drive up unemployment and strip away health care and food assistance from those who need it most.'
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson echoed Moore's sentiments.
'If President Trump wants to help make Chicago safer, he can start by releasing the funds for anti-violence programs that have been critical to our work to drive down crime and violence,' Johnson said. 'Sending in the National Guard would only serve to destabilize our city and undermine our public safety efforts.'
The pretext of Trump's actions appears to be a response to an attack on Edward Coristine, who is white and a former staffer at DOGE who goes by the nickname 'Big Balls.' He was allegedly assaulted by approximately 10 juveniles near Dupont Circle this month, according to a police report obtained by POLITICO.
It caught the attention of Trump, who posted on his Truth Social platform a photo of a bloodied Coristine and called for D.C. laws to be changed so that teenagers who commit violence can be tried as adults 'and lock them up for a long time, starting at age 14.'
Trump is deputizing key administration officials to help oversee the D.C. police, which he can maintain control of for up to 48 hours, but if he sends a special message to certain congressional leaders, he can extend that control for up to 30 days. Attorney General Pam Bondi will be in charge of D.C. police, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will direct the order to call up troops, while the District's U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Monday that she is preparing to bolster prosecutions.
Bowser, the D.C. mayor, delivered a measured response to the federal takeover in her remarks following Trump's announcements.
'While this action [Monday] is unsettling and unprecedented, I can't say that, given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we're totally surprised,' she said.
We'll continue to monitor how this plays out in D.C. and if similar federal action is deployed in other major cities.
All the best,The Recast Team
ARRESTED AT SEA
The Israeli military last month intercepted the Handala, the flotilla carrying aid to Gazans, arresting 21 crew members. Among them was Chris Smalls, former president of the Amazon Labor Union. Smalls, the only Black member of the crew, told The Recast he believes he was singled out by the Israeli military because of his race and subsequently beaten. In prison, Smalls began a hunger strike, which he said lasted until he was released five days later.
Our colleague Teresa Wiltz caught up with Smalls, who in 2023 was an honoree on the Recast Power List, to talk about his experiences on and off the flotilla, what happened once he was released — and why he says he's going back on the flotilla as soon as possible.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
THE RECAST: Can you talk me through what happened?
SMALLS: We were intercepted, illegally kidnapped against our will because we had intentions to go to Israel. They cut communications off from the outside world. There's at least a dozen ships [surrounding us]. We had to ride with them for about 12 hours before we were transferred to the port of authority.
THE RECAST: At what point were you arrested?
SMALLS: Well, once we were transferred to the immigration department, they violently assaulted me; seven authorities threw me to the ground. They put their knees in my back. They pushed my arm behind my back, and three of them levitated me on each side, while one of them was using my jewelry to choke me. Then they isolated me.
THE RECAST: Talk to me about what it was like in the prison.
SMALLS: Yeah, we were seven in one cell, not ideal for a hot, low-oxygen room. It was a heat wave, very inhumane conditions. It was bedbug-infested; I have scabies now because of it. Yeah, it was, it was pretty much hell. They had us strip naked, humiliated us, tried to break us down psychologically.
THE RECAST: Do you feel like you were being targeted because of your race?
SMALLS: Oh, 1,000 percent. It was not a coincidence that I was the last [of my group released with Hatem from Tunisia, the only other person of color left behind from the flotilla.]
THE RECAST: Tell me about the day they released you.
SMALLS: They came in, told us to get ready, we're going home. They threw us in the back of a van, and we were off to the Jordan border. We had no idea where we're going. When we got to the border, they just handed us $300 in cash and told us, 'Take a taxi to the airport.' So thankfully, I was able to meet some Palestinian people that allow me to use one of their cell phones and contact the coalition to tell them where I was at.
THE RECAST: Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) are your senators. Did you hear from them?
SMALLS: Yeah, I hadn't heard from any of them. I mean, they take money from AIPAC or whatever they do. I'm not surprised. You know, it is what it is. It's a shame, you know. But that's the reason why I went, to shed light on this and for American citizens to be outraged about where our taxpayer dollars are going.
[Editor's note: An aide from Booker's office said in a statement, 'Since being made aware of Mr. Small's detainment, Senator Booker's office worked with the U.S. Department of State and the Israeli Embassy to obtain information about the circumstances of his detainment, his treatment and ensure he was receiving assistance.' Kim's office did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.]
THE RECAST: Are you going to do it again?
SMALLS: Yeah, of course. I'll definitely, definitely do it [with] other folks for sure..
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