President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed to exert federal control over Washington, D.C., again if Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George wins the primary election next week and the general election in November.
Lewis George, a self-described socialist, is one of many candidates running in the Democratic primary on June 16. A reporter compared Lewis George to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another socialist, in asking the president for his thoughts on her.
“I wouldn’t like it,” Trump said when asked about the front-runner’s hypothetical primary victory. “Maybe we take back Washington and run it on a federal basis. We won’t put up with it. We’re not going to lose our businesses.”
His comments were amplified by the White House’s Rapid Response 47 account on X.
Trump boasted about his decision to federalize the district’s law enforcement last August, saying the crime-reduction efforts transformed the city into “a safe and beautiful place” and revitalized the local restaurant scene.
“We’re 92% down on crime,” he said. “You’ll always have some whackjob someplace, but we’re going to be close to 100%.”
The district has experienced a significant drop in crime since the federal government intervened last summer, but the latest statistics don’t support the 92% figure. Violent crime, including homicides, has seen a 3% drop so far this year compared to the same time last year, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department. For all of last year, violent crime was down 29%.
Trump pointed to the lower crime rates in Memphis and New Orleans, where National Guard units were deployed, as a model for what blue cities should do. He then named Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles as the next cities that should tackle their respective crime problems more seriously.
Trump also touted his efforts to beautify Washington, including the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, while talking about his accomplishments regarding the nation’s capital.
Meanwhile, Lewis George is set to face six other candidates in the Democratic primary next Tuesday. They are running to replace Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is forgoing running for a fourth term.
The socialist candidate is leading the mayoral race against the rest of the primary field. A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll showed her with an 11-point lead against former District Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, a relatively progressive challenger. Lewis George and McDuffie had the most support among likely Democratic primary voters, while the other contenders polled in the single digits.
One of the long-shot mayoral candidates criticized Trump over his comments on taking over the federal district.
“Completely unacceptable,” Rini Sampath posted on X. “We need to do everything in our power to stop Donald Trump from taking over our city. The president is looking for a reason to get rid of home rule, and we are already seeing federal infringement on everything from traffic cameras to beautification to local decision-making.
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“That is why the next mayor’s role is not just to resist Trump,” she wrote. “The next mayor’s role is to deny him an opening. That means fixing the budget, cleaning up procurement, going agency by agency, holding directors accountable, and making the basics work again.”
Responding to Trump’s remarks, Lewis George called his threat “an attack on democracy itself” and vowed to stand up to him on behalf of Washington voters if elected.