The New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman warned Democrats run a risk of alienating voters if they push back on President Trump’s attempt to crack down in crime in Washington and other large cities Democrats run.
“I think you see that in terms of [D.C.] Mayor [Muriel] Bowser, how she has reacted,” said Haberman, who is also a contributor to CNN, during an appearance on the network Tuesday. “There is a crime problem everywhere, in multiple cities. Big cities have traditionally had crime problems.”
“There are a lot of people who feel unsafe in big cities,” she continued. “And so if the mayor pushes back on the president, she sounds like she’s not addressing concerns of constituents.”
Haberman’s comments were first highlighted by Mediaite.
Trump on Monday declared a state of emergency over crime in the district, taking control of its police force and deploying National Guard troops to help law enforcement on city streets.
Bowser, a Democrat, on Monday called Trump’s actions “unprecedented” and “unsettling” but has said she welcomes help to fight crime in the district, meeting this week with Attorney General Pam Bondi about the administration’s moves.
Other Democrats have vocally condemned Trump’s actions, citing statistics showing crime declining in D.C. in recent years and arguing the president is overstepping his authority for political reasons.
“Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is at a thirty-year low,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) posted on the social platform X. “Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order. Get lost.”
Trump has suggested federal agencies and the military also could deploy to other major U.S. cities, naming Chicago, New York City and Baltimore as possible targets.
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