A majority of residents in the nation’s capital are opposed to President Trump’s takeover of the city’s police department, according to a new poll.
The latest survey, released Wednesday by the Washington Post, shows 69 percent of participants said they “strongly” oppose the president’s decision to take federal control over the Metropolitan Police Department. Another 10 percent said they “somewhat” oppose the move.
Another 9 percent said they “strongly” approve of the Trump administration’s federalization of local police, while 8 percent said they “somewhat” support the crackdown on crime. About 4 percent said they had no opinion, the poll found.
Trump has sought to justify his decision by pointing to violent crimes and carjackings in the nation’s capital. The argument comes as data shows crime in the district has slowed in recent months. The Justice Department (DOJ) announced this week that it launched a probe into the district’s crime data.
The president has also deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to help federal law enforcement patrol the streets. Amid rising tension, some have even been equipped with weapons.
As the survey shows, many D.C. residents are frustrated by the administration’s show of force.
“Trump’s overheated rhetoric about D.C. crime has evoked strong feelings among many residents offended by such characterizations of their city,” said Mark Rozell, dean of George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, which co-sponsored the poll.
“A federalized takeover of any aspect of a city’s operations will naturally create a backlash, and that is clearly happening here,” Rozell continued. “Residents are saying it is not as bad as the president claims, and they want to reclaim the image of their city against a presidential narrative that is tarnishing D.C.’s reputation.”
South Carolina, West Virginia and other states have deployed their own National Guard troops to help with the president’s police takeover. The president has also pushed to extend the federalization of law enforcement beyond the 30 days allowed under the city’s Home Rule Act.
“This doesn’t make sense. You know it doesn’t make sense,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a recent press conference. “The numbers on the ground in the district don’t support a thousand people from other states coming to Washington, D.C. You know that.”
In the latest poll, around 31 percent said crime was “extremely” or “very” serious in the district, compared to 41 percent who said it was only “moderately” serious. Another 28 percent of participants said it was “not too” serious or “not at all” serious.”
The Post-Schar School poll was conducted from Aug. 14-17 among 604 residents in Washington has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
