President Donald Trump met with top military leaders on Tuesday at the Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia and made controversial remarks suggesting that U.S. cities should be used as “training grounds” to combat a “war from within.”
“Dangerous Cities” and the “Internal Invasion” Claim
In his speech, Trump implied that the military and the National Guard could play a role in combating an “internal occupation” in cities led by Democrats, such as Chicago and New York. He told the leaders that defending the homeland is the military’s “top priority.”
Placing special emphasis on the situation in Washington, D.C., the president claimed that the city was unsafe prior to the federal government’s intervention in August and compared the situation to Afghanistan. He argued that Afghanistan—where thousands of lives were lost during a 20-year war—was safer than Washington before the intervention:
“Washington, D.C., was the most unsafe, most dangerous city in the United States, and to a large extent, it still is. If you went to Afghanistan, there was nothing like that there.”
These remarks came after President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted a reception at the White House the day before for families of soldiers who had lost loved ones in Afghanistan.
Crime Data and Legal Objections
President Trump’s characterization of Washington, D.C., as the “most unsafe” city contradicts current crime data. According to FBI data, the highest overall crime rates in the U.S. are not in Washington, D.C., but in cities such as Cleveland, St. Louis, and Memphis. According to the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department, crime rates are generally on the decline, and homicide rates are at their lowest level since the 2020 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the President’s moves to deploy the National Guard in such cities have sparked legal and political debates:
The Washington, D.C., Attorney General’s Office sued the administration for deploying the National Guard within the city limits, characterizing the action as a “forced military occupation.”
Similarly,Democratic leaders in Oregon challenged the deployment orders for the Oregon National Guard in Portland in court, claiming the administration had exceeded its executive authority. Oregon officials argued that Portland is not a “war-torn” city, as the President claimed.
Military and Political Concerns
The deployment of National Guard units this week to cities such as Portland and Memphis has sparked concern within military circles. Current and former defense officials expressed concern that these deployments appear authoritarian and carry the risk of creating a rift between the military and American citizens. Retired Major General Randy Manner noted that such steps could negatively impact the public’s perception of the military, potentially leading citizens to refer to service members as “armed thugs.”
The National Guard’s Impact in Washington, D.C.
Crime rates have continued to decline since more than 2,200 National Guard members were deployed to Washington, D.C. In addition to fighting crime, National Guard members have supported “beautification” efforts focused on improving public parks that had been neglected due to staffing shortages.
According to data provided by the joint task force, the National Guard “collected 1,133 bags of trash, spread 1,045 cubic meters of mulch, cleared 7.9 miles of roads, painted 270 feet of fence, pruned 400 trees, and packaged 6,030 pounds of food.”
