During a recent segment on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough discussed the response of some liberal media outlets to President Donald Trump’s federal control of Washington, suggesting there was a discrepancy between their reporting on crime and their personal experiences of safety in the capital.
Scarborough found it “interesting” that journalists who criticize Trump’s actions had privately voiced their own fears about safety.
“When this happened, I actually heard from the reporters,” he noted.
Having lived in Washington, D.C. for over three decades, he acknowledged that while crime has improved compared to a few years back, the city is still not as safe as it should be. “It’s certainly not as safe as the country’s capital,” he remarked.
Trump declared on Monday that he would place the D.C. police under federal oversight and send in National Guard troops to help “reestablish law, order, and public safety.”
Key Democratic figures, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Hillary Clinton, condemned this action as excessive, citing a decrease in murder rates.
Liberal commentators such as CNN’s Dana Bash and NBC’s Jonathan Allen pointed out the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, as the most violent day in the city’s recent history.
In the same “Morning Joe” episode, co-host Simonet Sander Townsend, who has lived in D.C. for ten years, expressed the view that the fear of crime is more about perception than reality. She described how some perceive the city like it’s “under siege,” but argued that was far from the truth, despite acknowledging some instances of juvenile crime.
Townsend accused Trump of stoking public fear, asserting that increasing police presence wouldn’t necessarily tackle the root causes of juvenile crime. “We need to rethink what makes cities safer in America,” she added.
Scarborough countered that even long-time Democrats in the area are worried about their safety. He recounted reading a message from a liberal resident who noted increased fears compared to a decade ago.
“It’s not imagined,” he emphasized. “I know that they and their friends don’t feel safe in Washington, D.C.”
At a press conference on Monday, Trump urged liberal journalists to acknowledge the reality of crime in the city. He said, “I understand a lot of you are on the liberal side, but you don’t want to face it. You know people who have experienced crime, and you want to feel safe going out to buy a newspaper or something.”
