Trump Says D.C. Is Now ‘Crime Free.’ What’s The Reality?

The NPR Politics Podcast

NPR

Politics, Daily News, News

4.5 • 24.9K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After nearly a month of federal law enforcement and military personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., President Trump says the District is a “crime-free zone.” We discuss what’s really going on in the city, as well as the pressures on the majority Democratic city’s Democratic mayor.

This episode: politics correspondent Sarah McCammon, national justice correspondent Ryan Lucas, and WAMU senior politics reporter Alex Koma.

This podcast was produced by Casey Morell & Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	What's made you happy as of late?
0:02.3	On Pop Culture Happy Hour, we've been talking about the things that have made us happy
0:06.1	in the pop culture universe for the past 15 years.
0:09.5	Whether it's a blockbuster or deliciously bad reality TV, the newest shows, dramas, and reboots,
0:16.0	we're here to keep your spirits high.
0:18.6	Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on the NPR app
0:21.1	or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:24.8	Hey, podcast listeners.
0:26.5	This is Larry, here with my family
0:28.2	on the night train to Moscow,
0:30.5	having just celebrated my mother-in-law's
0:32.4	80th birthday here in Russia.
0:34.6	The family's sleeping,
0:35.9	but I'm sitting here,
0:36.8	sipping tea and rocking out to the sounds of the rails after midnight.
0:42.1	This podcast was recorded at 12.36 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025. Things may have
0:49.5	changed since then, but I'll probably still be in customs. Enjoy the show.
0:56.4	Such a soothing vibe while his family sleeps.
0:58.7	Truly, truly.
1:00.3	Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Sarah McCammon. I cover politics.
1:04.6	I'm Ryan Lucas. I cover the Justice Department.
1:06.6	And Alex Coma of member station WAMU in D.C. is here in studio as well. Hi, Alex. It's great to be here. Today on the podcast, we're talking about the federal government's takeover of law enforcement in Washington, D.C. And what's really going on with all those arrests the White House keeps talking about. Alex, you've been out on the streets of D.C. reporting for several weeks now. Just tell us what you've been seeing. And how does it look different than it would normally look here?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.