If one had failed to appreciate the meaning and the danger behind Donald Trump deploying National Guard troops to police Washington, DC, then Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen’s latest post on Bluesky (Follow me here) is a clarion call – democracy on the brink, POST:
Trump’s raw authoritarian power grab in DC is part of a growing national crisis. He’s playing dictator in our nation’s capital as a dress rehearsal as he pushes democracy to the brink. This assault on freedom is exactly why we’ve fought for DC statehood and to give DC control of its National Guard.
And by the way, Trump couldn’t care less about safety in DC or the people of DC. If he did, he wouldn’t have blocked DC from spending $1 billion of its OWN money to fund its OWN police department, schools and more. This is flatly about testing the limits of his power.
Yes, it is about testing the limits of his powers. And it is good to hear the matter put with such stark clarity by the highest-ranking Democrats. Speaking of which, the District is almost exclusively Democratic, something that makes the move that much more political. The irony is rich because the last time Trump referenced the DC National Guard, he claimed he didn’t have the power to call them in on January 6th 2021. Now, Trump admits that he will likely use the same tool all over the country, even if he wouldn’t normally have that power:
Trump: "If we need to, we're gonna do the same thing in Chicago, which is a disaster. We have a mayor there who is totally incompetent and we have an incompetent governor there … hopefully LA is watching."
Additionally, Trump has made it very clear that the gloves are coming off. Earlier in the day, he announced from the podium that he will allow the police to treat protesters violently,
“I’ve watched that for years. For three or four years, I’ve watched them. The police are standing and they’re told, ‘Don’t do anything under any [circumstances],’ and you can see they want to get at it. And they’re standing there and people are spitting in their face, and they’re not allowed to do anything; but now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.
“You know, a lot of nations, they don’t have anything like that. They got some police, and they’re rough police. But they’re rough police and they do their job. They don’t have crime. We’re not gonna have crime either.”
"You knock the hell out of them. It's the only language they understand … you spit and we hit. And they get hit real hard … now they are allowed to do whatever they want" — Trump on the police response to crime in DC pic.twitter.com/BsDBtKKGbE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 11, 2025
So Trump says he will stop the violence against someone like the teen victim “Big Balls” by fomenting more violence against the homeless or protesters. It is all about who you support in Trump’s mind, and – increasingly, in this country.
The move serves a dual purpose in that stirring up any controversy, even one that might be shot down, either by public outcry or by the courts, at least moves the discussion past the Jeffrey Epstein matter for the time being. A desperate Trump is one who is just that much more dangerous.
Sending the National Guard into DC because of crime — when crime is down 25% — is simply abuse of power to DISTRACT FROM EPSTEIN.And where was the National Guard on Jan 6 when we truly had a crisis?
— Morgan J Freeman (@mjfree.bsky.social) 2025-08-11T16:35:25.514Z
As to whether there is anything a court can do to reverse the decision, that is an open question, likely one of the reasons why Van Hollen calls this a “dress rehearsal.” It is true that the president does have far more power over the District of Columbia than he would over just an ordinary city, but he has already called out the California National Guard by federalizing them and placing them in Los Angeles, though that involved immigration, another primarily federal task. It is unknown whether this move, coming off no discernible “emergency,” would survive a court contest – it likely will.
Two things can be true:1) The President has legal authority over the D.C. police and the D.C. National Guard that he doesn't have *anywhere else* in the country; &2) Even if this doesn't set a legal precedent, it sets an ominous *political* precedent for pretextually overriding local government.
— Steve Vladeck (@stevevladeck.bsky.social) 2025-08-11T15:32:09.199Z
The better question is whether the public accepts this, and that is likely the ultimate motivation underlying the move. Trump wants to gauge the public’s reaction to him taking over a city in order to inform him as to the best move down the road. He knows that Democrats are far more urban in setting than the average Trump supporter, grab control of the cities and he controls his political opponents.
It is tough to know whether he will be broadly opposed or whether this will fall on the usual MAGA-Dem divide. The outcry was immediate:
First it was troops in L.A., sent to provoke and assault peaceful protesters under the banner of “immigration enforcement.” Now it’s troops in our capital to disappear the homeless. See the pattern? Sooner or later, the monster comes for us all.
— Alt National Park Service (@altnps.bsky.social) 2025-08-11T14:27:17.160Z
I don’t understand the motivation here. Is he testing this out for future use? Is he trying to get folks used to the idea of martial law for when he uses it to postpone elections? Is he trying to incite violence like he did in LA but failed, or is this just police state stuff?
— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2025-08-11T15:54:16.468Z
A little of all the above, I suspect. And throw in some racism, always:
This would not be happening if African Americans weren't the largest demographic in Washington, DC. This is white supremacy.
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) 2025-08-11T16:17:41.522Z
One wants to scream at the Lindsey Grahams and John Thunes of the world, “Are you just going to stand there and support this?” There is likely a reason that Trump did this while Congress was not in session and in the middle of the summer. Fewer are really watching.
When Trump refuses to leave the White House in 2028 we will look back on the day Trump federalized and militarized D.C. WITHOUT ANY BASIS WHATSOEVER as the beginning of that coup plot
— Seth Abramson (@sethabramson.bsky.social) 2025-08-11T16:10:50.666Z
Interesting. Does anyone know how this turned out?encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/a…
— George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 (@gtconway.bsky.social) 2025-08-11T15:53:18.783Z
Below, I am really not sure what Trump means by this because this goes beyond even just calling up the National Guard. I am not sure how this works or whether Trump is speaking off the cuff. Bondi cannot control the Washington DC police department – it reports to the District’s mayor.
Trump: "Pam Bondi, who is fantastic, is taking command of the Metropolitan Police Department as of this moment."
At the end of the day, I am mystified as to how it is that Trump can do such a thing without it being incredibly risky because one has to believe that there is a point at which even some of Trump’s biggest supporters in Washington start to worry that this is too far, that they didn’t sign up for this. Calling attention to the dangers now is almost too late for citizens in Washington, DC and the summer isn’t even over yet. He will keep going in every blue state city (Houston will not see the Texas National Guard federalized, but Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles will) in which he is allowed, further consolidating his control. It is almost impossible to overreact.
The road to authoritarianism is littered with people telling you you’re overreacting.
— Governor Tim Walz (@governorwalz.mn.gov) 2025-08-11T16:47:01.047Z
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