As Trump Takes Over the Police in D.C.
Re 'Trump Proclaims Federal Control of the D.C. Police' (front page, Aug. 12):
Like everything else he does, President Trump's ordering the National Guard to Washington, D.C., is a performance designed to burnish his public perception and self-regard as a strongman. It has nothing to do with the reality on the ground and, rather than making the city great again, to use his words, projects an anti-democratic image that will only instill fear in those who don't know better.
Troops on the Mall? It's of a piece with the military parade on his birthday and will hopefully backfire in much the same way. To see a group of his cabinet members and associates smile as they take measures that will intimidate the majority Black population of the city is not simply a bad look — it is revanchist.
One can only hope that the president's ill-advised and self-serving actions will prompt a massive protest on the Mall against these measures, one that will reclaim it and the rest of the District as a place — unlike Mr. Trump's administration — of, by and for the people.
Jeffrey HamburgerBelmont, Mass.
To the Editor:
President Trump is sending federal law enforcement into Washington, D.C., because of what he calls 'out of control' crime, notwithstanding a falling crime rate there.
On Jan. 6, 2021, a violent crime was underway at the Capitol in Washington, and members of Congress as well as officials in his administration urged Mr. Trump to send federal law enforcement immediately. He ignored their pleas while he watched the violence on television. Four years later he even pardoned those convicted of criminal assault.
How times have changed.
Bob BenderBronx
To the Editor:
The stated motives behind President Trump's takeover of the Washington, D.C., police department, along with his dramatic deployment of F.B.I. agents and National Guard troops to the city's streets, appear disingenuous at best.
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