Inside Trump's power play for more control in D.C.

When President Trump announced a federal takeover of D.C.'s law enforcement Monday, he figured it would draw muted opposition from the city's mayor — and was likely to garner support among many residents.Why it matters: Trump's move marked an unprecedented peacetime expansion of presidential control of the capital city. It was widely condemned by national Democrats as an authoritarian overreach — and a prelude to takeovers of other cities in blue states.Zoom in: But the politics surrounding Trump's move were more complex — and Trump advisers say there are no concrete plans to replicate the D.C. takeover in other cities. Trump has long criticized D.C.'s management and sought more federal control of the city during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. He showed Monday that his desire to score political points in the Democrat-run city — and dramatically exaggerate its problems — is very much alive.White House insiders said Trump's move also was prompted by his anger at seeing pictures of a wounded Edward Coristine, a former DOGE staffer known as "Big Balls" who was beaten and bloodied last week by a group of youths on a D.C. street."When he saw a report on Fox about how bad it was in D.C., that was the final straw," one Trump adviser said. "He said he wanted it done. So we scrambled and got it done."D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called Trump's move "unprecedented" and "unsettling" in a city where crime rates actually are declining. But her response was far more muted than many of her fellow Democrats."It doesn't matter if crime has gone down if you were a victim," Bowser said at a news conference where she said she opposed the federal takeover but couldn't do much to stop it because of the unique nature of how the federal city is governed.Bowser has developed what both sides describe as a good working relationship with Trump, in part by avoiding the type of verbal spats with him that have ensnared other leaders in her party.While other Democrats warned of peril in federal officers enforcing laws on D.C. streets, Bowser said she saw a potential upside."The fact that we have more law enforcement and presence in neighborhoods, that may be positive," she said.A backdrop to all of this: Bowser is seeking to maintain Trump's support for a massive redevelopment project on federal land that would include a new stadium for the NFL's Washington Commanders and thousands of residences along with retail and green spaces.Bowser discussed the stadium deal and D.C. crime with Trump during a Mar-a-Lago meeting before Trump was sworn into office in January, the Trump adviser said.The big picture: Trump's team was mindful of stats indicating that crime in D.C. has fallen significantly from COVID-era highs. But they said many residents still don't feel safe — a claim backed by a Washington Post Schar School poll in May in which half of those surveyed in the capital said crime was either an "extremely serious" or "very serious" problem.Big-city crime and immigration are core targets of Trumpism and, advisers say, the president believes that perceptions about public safety can outweigh statistics about declining crime.That's true even when it comes to reporters in the White House briefing room."You people are victims of it, too," Trump told reporters Monday. "You don't want to get mugged and raped and shot and killed."The White House's rapid response account on X posted commentary from ABC News anchor Kyra Phillips, who noted that two people had been shot near her office within the past six months.Between the lines: House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats such as Hillary Clinton responded to Trump's move by pointing to reports that violent crime is at a 30-year low in D.C.But Bowser's response — noting that the personal experience of crime can have more impact than statistics — was echoed by some Democratic strategists.They told Axios that Democrats need to meet voters "where they are" and stop relying on statistics to try to talk them out of how they feel.Inside the West Wing: Trump likes the mayor, his advisers say. A Bowser adviser confirmed the two have had a good personal working relationship."You're welcome to come here and to make your case for things that you want," Trump told Bowser in a recent White House meeting, according to Bowser's adviser."We're not always going to agree, but you can always come to me," Trump told her.Said the mayoral adviser: "She appreciated his candor, and that set the tone."

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