(Todd A. Smith)
President Donald Trump does not care about lowering crime because if he did, he would change his actions and behavior, considering that he is a convicted criminal.
President Trump does not care about crime in the nation’s capital because if he did, he would have called the National Guard on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop his lawless and thuggish supporters from trying to overthrow American democracy and steal the 2020 election from former President Joe Biden.
If Trump cared about lowering crime, he would not have encouraged his supporters to punch critics in the face when they shouted their displeasure at Trump during one of his idol-worshipping rallies.
If the Commander-in-Chief truly cared about lowering crime, he would not send the National Guard to Democrat-led cities that are experiencing sharp declines in violent crime.
If he truly cared about crime, Trump would be criticizing crime in some GOP-led cities and states that have higher crime rates per capita than many blue cities and blue states.
But instead of genuinely trying to reduce crime, which would be commendable, Trump prefers to demonstrate his power through performative theatrics rather than focusing on effective leadership and governance.
Trump’s attempts at changing the news cycle would work in different times.
In a different era, his throwing out lies about former President Barack Obama colluding with Russia during the 2016 election or pretending to be tough on crime when he commits more crimes than most would work.
Trump’s 2024 campaign centered on draining the swamp in Washington, D.C., releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, which were supposed to expose a Democrat-led pedophilia ring, lowering prices and ending all wars on the first day of his second presidential term.
He has done none of those things.
In fact, he has refused to release the Epstein files, while calling people who insist he do so “stupid people.”
Since he refuses or cannot do anything he campaigned for, he creates chaos, which he hopes will take attention off his many failures.
The problem with that tactic is that many people do not consume media in the old school way in 2025.
While mainstream and legacy media organizations must report every Trump move, no matter how ridiculously stupid, new media outlets dance to the beat of a different drummer.
Podcast hosts and bloggers dance to the beat of their own tune.
And as long as Trump refuses to do the things that he told the podcasters and bloggers he would do, many of those influential movers and shakers will continue holding his old and callous feet to the fire.
And those who can give their honest opinion via the media will also continue to hold Trump accountable.
In an Aug. 12 op-Ed for MSNBC, Melissa Wasser, senior policy counsel for the ACLU of the District of Columbia, wrote, “Today, in the District of Columbia, parents are asking if their children will have to walk past armed troops when the school year begins. Commuters wonder how a federalized police force will disrupt their daily routines. Our unhoused neighbors and immigrant communities fear what stepping on the street might mean for them. The district has become something no American community should endure—occupied by the federal military, with its local police force seized by the president. Worse still, the district has become a testing ground for tactics that could soon be deployed across the country…
“There is no emergency to justify this…
“Violent crime is down 26% this year after a 35% drop in 2024, and overall crime is down 7% according to the Metropolitan Police Department. This is a manufactured crisis designed to normalize tactics the president has already threatened to unleash on other majority-Black and Brown jurisdictions such as Chicago, Oakland and Baltimore.”
The city of Baltimore, which, like the nation’s capital, also has a Black mayor, has also seen a sharp decline in violent crime.
Wasser wrote that Trump wants to induce fear in these communities.
The problem that Trump will run into is that very few Black people take him seriously.
Very few in the Black community view him as strong.
Many, like me, look at him like he is a joke.
The people that Trump is trying to scare know fear, and he simply is not someone to fear.
The Black community, especially those of a certain age, grew up in constant fear.
Those in the golden years of their life risked their lives and their safety fighting for freedom.
Many of our elders dealt with the Ku Klux Klan.
Many of our elders dealt with police abuse.
Many our elders dealt with the theft of their land by racist White thieves.
Many of our elders endured that so that future generations of the Black community would not live in that same fear.
Many people from my generation dealt with fear, too.
Many people of my generation dealt with gang violence.
Many people of my generation dealt with a lack of adequate shelter.
Many people of my generation dealt with subpar schools.
And, unfortunately, many people of my generation dealt with police brutality just look previous generations.
Eating dinner in the kitchen and worrying about a bullet flying through the room is fear.
Wondering if the police will shoot you if you reach for your driver’s license and vehicle registration is a fear.
What Trump is doing with the National Guard is a clown show, and he is the ultimate clown.
Black people have had to be strong to make it in a racist country like America.
Therefore, many Black people recognize strength in other people when they see it.
And when many of us see Trump, we do not see strength.
We see a weak and pathetic man, desperate to appear strong.
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