“Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski appeared to realize too late that in their zeal to oppose President Donald Trump at any cost, Democrats were charging headlong into the “trap” of defending the violent crime that Trump had promised to stop in Washington, D.C.
Brzezinski and former “Hardball” host Chris Matthews were discussing President Trump’s takeover of law enforcement in the capital city, and the oppositional stance taken by many prominent Democrats and media talking heads — and they came to the conclusion that what the American people would see was Democrats siding with criminals in their efforts to get Trump.
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For Matthews, the sticking point was the murder rate. “The murder rate — you can’t keep saying violent crime is down, but the murder rate’s up,” he said. “To the average person, the murder [rate] is about life and death. You don’t brag about a rising murder rate.”
“And the Democrats — I agree with you, Mika — have fallen into the trap of defending what’s indefensible,” he added.
“It’s a trap! Yes, it’s a trap,” Brzezinski replied. “I mean, it — it’s not a winner politically to say, ‘You’re wrong, look at the data.’ Because if one violent crime happens in a very heavy populated part of the city, people hear about it and it’s visceral.”
“They don’t want it, and they want to — they’ll gravitate to the person who appears to be doing something about it,” she concluded.
Meghan McCain was among those who had already noticed a number of Democrats going in that direction, and she commented on the trend: “Since 2020 — I will NEVER understand democrats messaging of ‘murder and crime is actually not a big deal.’ And why they continue to double, triple, quadruple down on it.”
A number, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), have insisted that the crime rate in the nation’s capital is at a 30-year low — but reports have also circulated suggesting that those numbers come from a D.C. Metro Police report that may have downplayed violent crimes in order to make the city appear safer on paper.
