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The Washington Post editorial board criticized the “resistance” left on Wednesday for attacking Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser after she began working with President Donald Trump to crack down on crime.
“District Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) understands what ‘resistance’ politics did for the country the first time Donald Trump was president: not much,” the board wrote.
Though she initially expressed concerns about Trump federalizing the local police and deploying hundreds of federal officers to her city, Bowser has since acknowledged that crime dropped after his efforts began. She also recently signed an executive order encouraging more cooperation with federal officials to enforce the law.
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The Washington Post praised Bowser’s efforts as a “refreshing” change that could improve public safety long term, contrasting them with Democratic activists’ actions in Trump’s first term.
“All the protesting and dunking on social media made activists on the left feel good, at least for a time. It delivered a few symbolic victories for progressives, such as the renaming of streets and the tearing down of statues. But it did little to improve the day-to-day lives of ordinary Americans. Most important, resistance politics failed in its primary objective of stopping Trump,” the board wrote.
The Washington Post warned that Democrats risk even more political damage by constantly opposing Trump’s crime strategy in Washington, D.C.
“Crime in the District has fallen substantially in recent years, but it remains unacceptably high,” the board wrote. “Too much disorder has been allowed to fester, undermining quality of life. Therein lies the trap for Democrats: They cannot dismiss crime simply because things are improving, or they risk portraying themselves as out of touch with reality.”
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It concluded, “The politically expedient path would be to performatively fight Trump tooth and nail, but Bowser knows that is not what’s best for the city we all love.”
The D.C. Democratic Party reiterated its support for “the end of the federalization of DC’s police” in a comment to Fox News Digital.
“We believe in supporting Home Rule and DC Statehood. No other community in America can have its local police, schools and government taken over by the president without the consent of the people. We believe in democracy, and the people in DC are fighting for our democracy and right to govern ourselves,” the statement read.
Bowser’s office declined to comment.
Trump declared a public safety emergency in Washington, D.C., in August and invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. That emergency order will expire on Sept. 10, according to Bowser.
Ahead of the Sept. 10 deadline, Bowser’s office issued an executive order Tuesday to “ensure coordination with federal law enforcement to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District” to continue cooperating with the president.
Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
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