On Tuesday, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough read aloud a text from a “very liberal” acquaintance — someone, he said, who has grown uneasy about violent crime in the nation’s capital.
The friend, Scarborough explained, isn’t “totally opposed” to President Trump’s move to federalize D.C.’s police force.
“I want to read you a text from someone … I won’t say their name, but … we’ll just say that they’re very liberal,” Scarborough began.
“He says, ‘This may sound controversial, but I’m not totally opposed to Trump’s National Guard move in D.C. I know he’s doing it for politics, but crime remains rampant. I’ve had too many friends carjacked, shot at. None of us will walk more than three blocks after 8 p.m. Thirteen-year-olds are committing many of these crimes. Quite a change from a decade ago, when things were much calmer.’”
Scarborough then reflected on his own years in the district. “That actually sounds like the D.C. that I lived in when I lived a block behind the Supreme Court. And, you know, every three days, one of my neighbors was getting held up at gunpoint,” he said. “There has been a crime problem in D.C. At the same time, obviously, there are a lot of concerns: will this look like June of 2020?”
Watch the clip below:
🚨NEW: MSNBC's Joe Scarborough reads aloud text from "VERY LIBERAL" person *UNLOADING* on DC crime🚨
"He says, 'This may sound controversial — but I’m not totally opposed to Trump’s National Guard move in D.C.'"
"'I know he’s doing it for politics — but crime remains rampant.'"… pic.twitter.com/pAzE7iELcY
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) August 12, 2025
Legacy media outlets reported a 35% drop in crime in 2024. But those numbers lean on local police data that leave out whole categories — including felony and aggravated assault — giving the impression the city’s crime problem has eased more than it has since the pandemic began in 2020.
The Metropolitan Police Department counts only homicide, sex abuse, assault with a dangerous weapon, and robbery in its official “violent crime” statistics. Left out are aggravated assaults and felony assaults without weapons — crimes that Washington law still defines as violent and that, according to the FBI, are on the rise.
The FBI’s own violent crime data for the district, based on MPD reports but with a broader definition, show a different picture: violent offenses fell just 10% in 2024 and remained slightly higher than in 2018.
FBI data also show homicides staying above pre-pandemic levels every year since 2020, except 2021 — when faulty reporting skewed the numbers, according to Axios. And aggravated assaults? Up 12% in 2024 compared with 2023, and 37% higher than in 2022.
[h/t The Daily Caller]
