Washington, D.C.’s streets are bleeding, and President Donald Trump is fed up. Crime rates have skyrocketed, with murders hitting a 25-year high and carjackings tripling in five years. His answer? A federal takeover depicted in a noteworthy video release that has progressives clutching their pearls, as Breitbart reports.

President Trump announced Monday that he’s invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, putting the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and activating the National Guard.

The White House dropped a slick video this week, dubbed “Nighttime Routine: Operation Make D.C. Safe Again Edition,” showing authorities rounding up alleged criminals. It’s a bold move to tackle a city spiraling into chaos.

Car thefts in D.C. have doubled over the past five years, while carjackings have more than tripled. Murders in 2023 hit 274, a grim milestone not seen in at least a quarter-century. This isn’t just a statistic -- it’s a city under siege.

Federal control sparks debate

Trump’s decision to federalize D.C.’s police isn’t new; it echoes a 1990s task force that slashed homicide rates. Back then, under Chief Lanier from 2010 to 2014, homicides hovered between 100 and 170 annually. Now, with 2023’s body count at 274, the capital’s murder rate outstrips Bogotá and Mexico City.

“The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogotá, Colombia; Mexico City; some of the places you hear about as being the worst places on earth,” Trump told reporters.

He’s not wrong -- D.C.’s homicide rate is five to six times higher than any other major U.S. city. That’s a wake-up call for anyone still dreaming of “defund the police.”

Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund backed Trump’s play, noting on Breitbart News Daily that similar tactics worked in the ’90s.

“We did this in the early ’90s, when I was with D.C. police; we were able to drive down homicide rates,” he said. Sund’s not nostalgic -- he’s pointing to a playbook that worked.

Crime stats paint grim picture

D.C.’s crime wave isn’t just about murders. Carjackings have surged, with thieves growing bolder by the day. Residents don’t feel safe grabbing a coffee, let alone walking home at night.

“You want to be able to leave your apartment or your house where you live and feel safe and go into a store to buy a newspaper or buy something, and you don’t have that now,” Trump said. His critics call it fearmongering; regular folks call it reality. The capital’s streets aren’t a progressive utopia -- they’re a battleground.

Homicides dropped slightly from 2023 to 2024, but don’t pop the champagne. “There’s a drop from 2023 to 2024, but it’s still significant -- double what we had in around 2010,” Sund noted. A dip doesn’t erase a decade of decline.

Trump’s plan faces pushback

Trump is painting a vivid picture of the problem. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs, and homeless people,” he said. The left screams hyperbole, but when your city’s murder rate rivals war zones, maybe it’s time to listen.

Not everyone’s on board with Trump’s tough-on-crime stance. Gov. Tim Walz’s daughter called it “bitch baby, wussy, scaredy cat behavior.” Cute, but dismissing a 274-homicide year as cowardice is the kind of ivory-tower nonsense that got D.C. into this mess.

The White House’s video, “Nighttime Routine: Operation Make D.C. Safe Again Edition,” isn’t just optics -- it’s a signal of intent. Federal control means business, and the National Guard’s presence is a not-so-subtle reminder that law and order are back on the menu. Critics can scoff, but residents might sleep better knowing someone’s finally acting.

Can D.C. be saved?

Trump’s critics argue that he is overstepping, trampling D.C.’s autonomy with federal boots. But when your city’s drowning in crime, autonomy feels like a luxury, not a right. Section 740 gives him the legal muscle to act, and he’s using it.

“I understand a lot of you tend to be on the liberal side, but … you don’t want to get mugged and raped and shot and killed,” Trump told reporters. It’s blunt, but he’s speaking to the fear gripping every D.C. neighborhood. Progressives might wince, but they’re not the ones dodging bullets.

Operation Make D.C. Safe Again is a gamble, but it’s rooted in precedent. The ’90s task force and Lanier’s era prove tough measures can work. If Trump’s plan delivers, D.C. might just reclaim its streets from the chaos.