Nonilex

Trump's rhetoric about #DC echoes a history of #racist narratives about #urban #crime

#Trump has taken control of DC’s #police & ordered #NationalGuard #troops to deploy onto the streets of the nation’s capital, claiming the extraordinary moves are necessary to curb an urgent public safety crisis.

#WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #autocracy #democracy #CivilRights #coup #TrumpCoup2
https://apnews.com/article/trump-washington-dc-takeover-race-39388597bad7e70085079888fe7fb57b?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-08-12-Trump%27s+DC+rhetoric

Trump's DC police takeover echoes history of racist narratives about crime

President Donald Trump's rhetoric in his federal takeover of Washington police echoes that of conservative politicians going back decades who've denounced American cities with majority non-white populations or progressive leaders as crime-ridden and in need of outside intervention. The Republican president has taken control of Washington’s law enforcement and ordered National Guard troops to deploy onto the streets of the nation’s capital. Guard troops arrived at their Washington headquarters Tuesday. Trump argues the extraordinary move is a response to a public safety crisis. Advocates in Washington's Black community say they'd been preparing for a potential federal crackdown since 2020, when Trump deployed U.S. troops during racial justice protests after George Floyd's killing.

AP News
Aug 12, 2025 at 5:53pmWeb
Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

Even as #DC officials questioned the claims underlying his *#emergency declaration*, #Trump promised a “historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam & squalor & worse.” His rhetoric echoed that used by #conservatives going back decades who have denounced #cities, especially those with majority #nonwhite populations or led by #progressives, as lawless or crime-ridden & in need of outside intervention.

#WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #CivilRights #TrumpCoup2

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

As #DC the #NationalGuard arrived at their HQ Tuesday, for many residents, the prospect of #federal #troops surging into neighborhoods represented an alarming violation of #local #agency. To some, it echoes uncomfortable historical chapters when politicians used language to paint historically or predominantly #Black #cities & neighborhoods with #racist narratives to shape public opinion & justify aggressive #police action.

#Trump #WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #democracy #CivilRights #coup

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

…According to White House ofcls, #troops will be deployed to protect federal assets & facilitate a safe environment for law enforcement to make arrests. The #Trump admin believes the highly visible presence of law enforcement will deter violent crime. It is unclear how the admin defines providing a safe environment for law enforcement to conduct arrests, raising alarm bells for some advocates.

#WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #autocracy #democracy #CivilRights #coup #TrumpCoup2

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

“The president foreshadowed that if these heavy-handed tactics take root here, they will be rolled out to other majority-#Black & #Brown #cities, like #Chicago, #Oakland & #Baltimore, across the country,” said Monica Hopkins, executive director of the ACLU’s #DC chapter.

“We’ve seen before how #federal #control of the DC #NationalGuard & #police can lead to #abuse, #intimidation & #CivilRights violations —

#Trump #WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #autocracy #democracy #coup #TrumpCoup2

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

#Conservatives have for generations used denigrating #language to describe the *conditions* of major #cities & called for greater law enforcement, often in response to changing #demographics in those cities driven by #nonwhite populations relocating in search of #work or #safety from #RacialDiscrimination & #StateViolence.

#Trump #WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #autocracy #democracy #CivilRights #coup #TrumpCoup2

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

#Republicans have called for greater #police crackdowns in #cities since at least the 1965 #WattsRiots in #LosAngeles.

President Richard #Nixon won the White House in 1968 after campaigning on a “law & order” agenda to appeal to #white voters in northern cities alongside overtures to white Southerners as part of his “#SouthernStrategy.”

#Trump #WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #autocracy #democracy #CivilRights #coup #TrumpCoup2

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

Ronald #Reagan similarly won both his presidential elections after campaigning heavily on law & order politics. Politicians, including former NY Mayor #RudyGiuliani & former President #BillClinton have cited the need to tamp down *crime* as a reason to seize #power from #liberal #cities for decades.

#Trump #WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #autocracy #democracy #CivilRights #coup #TrumpCoup2

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

#Trump threatened to “take over” & “beautify” #DC on the campaign trail & claimed it was “a nightmare of murder & crime.” He also argued the #city was “horribly run” & said his team intended “to take it away from the mayor.” Trump on Monday repeated old comments about some of the nation’s largest #cities, including #Baltimore, #Chicago, #LosAngeles, #Oakland & his hometown of #NYC. All are currently run by #Black mayors.

#WhiteSupremacy #law #MilitaryState #autocracy #democracy #CivilRights

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

“You look at #Chicago, how bad it is. You look at #LosAngeles, how bad it is. We have other cities in a very bad, #NewYork is a problem. And then you have, of course, #Baltimore & #Oakland. We don’t even mention that anymore. They’re so far gone. We’re not going to let it happen,” #Trump said.

#CivilRights advocates see the #rhetoric as part of a broader political strategy.

“It’s a playbook he’s used in the past,” said Maya Wiley, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights.

#law

Show threadNonilexAug 12, 2025

Trump’s rhetoric “paints a picture that crime is out of control, even when it is not true, then blames the policies of #Democratic lawmakers that are #reform- & #PublicSafety-minded, & then claims that you have to step in & violate people’s rights or demand that reforms be reversed,”Wiley said.

She added that the playbook has special potency in #DC because local law enforcement can be directly placed under #federal #control, a #power #Trump invoked…

#WhiteSupremacy #law #democracy #CivilRights