ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
President Trump says hundreds of National Guard troops will deploy here in Washington, D.C. He has also declared an emergency that allows him to temporarily seize control of the capital city police department. Local officials are furious. Trump says these moves are needed to stop an epidemic of crime, but federal data show that crime has been dropping. NPR's Brian Mann joins us now. Hey, Brian.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Hi, Ari.
SHAPIRO: At the press conference today, Trump was joined by other top officials, including the defense secretary and the attorney general. What did they say?
MANN: Well, Trump made the case, Ari, and his Cabinet officials backed him up on this, that Washington, D.C., is a lawless, deadly place. They said, under federal control, law enforcement in Washington will be far more aggressive. They say they're comfortable using military troops, if necessary, to target gangs and young offenders. And Trump himself made it clear he's sending a signal with these actions to other major cities around the U.S. led by Democratic mayors.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Other cities are hopefully watching this. They're all watching, just like everyone's watching here. They're all watching. And maybe they'll self-clean up.
MANN: Now, what's remarkable here is that Trump's narrative is flatly contradicted by local and federal crime data that shows Washington, D.C., is much safer than it used to be. It's also contradicted by the lived experience. There is crime, of course, in Washington, but this is a peaceful city. It's filled with tourists, far from the dystopian portrait that Trump painted today.
SHAPIRO: As we said, local officials are not happy. What did D.C.'s mayor, Muriel Bowser, have to say about this?
MANN: You know, it was interesting. She made it clear she believes Trump does have the authority to take at least temporary control of the police. The law seems to suggest he can do this for 30 days unless Congress intervenes. Bowser described Trump's decision to wield this presidential authority as subjective. She said she's trying to figure out exactly how it's all going to work. And she also voiced a warning.
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MURIEL BOWSER: I have reached out to Attorney General Bondi and hope to schedule a meeting soon. My message to residents is this - we know that access to our democracy is tenuous.
MANN: Bowser said what she means there is that Washington doesn't have statehood. That means the city and its residents are vulnerable to Trump's power.
SHAPIRO: August in D.C. is famously when lawmakers leave and school tourist groups arrive. What are you hearing from the people you talk to out around town today?
MANN: Well, you know, Ari, this is a very Democratic city. A lot of the people I've been talking to are shocked and dismayed by this. I spoke with Ashwin Narawyan (ph), a freelance IT worker who says he sometimes works for progressive organizations. And here is his reaction to today's news.
ASHWIN NARAWYAN: It's horrifying (laughter). I've never heard of anything like this happening here.
MANN: So real shock from people. I've also been speaking with people in homeless camps, who Trump has threatened to purge from the city, and they're really frightened. Trump hasn't said where people will be taken. He's only said they'll be sent far from Washington, and that means people being taken away from family connections and their support networks here in the city.
SHAPIRO: Give us some context here because Trump already sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles this summer to quell protests over ICE raids. There's still a legal fight over that deployment. How does this fit in?
MANN: Well, this is a major symbolic escalation. This is Trump using his authority without support from local officials, putting soldiers on the streets of Washington, the nation's capital. The political ramifications of that at a time when Trump has already been openly pushing the boundaries of democratic norms, it's huge. There's also a practical street level here, Ari. This could be volatile. Experts I talked to are worried about how this kind of aggressive law enforcement will play out with American citizens, many of them vulnerable - mental health issues, addiction. Nat Guard troops just aren't trained for this kind of intervention. Trump says this is going to happen ruthlessly fast, but these social problems soldiers will be facing, these aren't military problems.
SHAPIRO: That is NPR's Brian Mann. Thank you.
MANN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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