This is Brian Lair's Daily Politics podcast from WNYC Studios.

It's Wednesday, August 13th.

I'm Matt Katz, filling in for Brian today.

Now we'll talk about President Trump's recent move to take control of the D.C.

Police Department and deploy the National Guard and the Capitol over the objections of local

officials and despite the fact that violent crime in that city has dropped sharply. Homicides

down more than 30 percent since last year. Armed carjacking are down more than 50 percent,

yet Trump has declared a quote crime emergency and cited outdated statistics to justify federal intervention.

In a recent edition of the Atlantic's Daily newsletter, David Graham makes clear that this isn't

just a PR stunt or campaign season flex. It's a raw assertion of presidential power,

one that overrides the will of local voters and treats a U.S. city like a stage set.

Graham argues that this fits into a disturbing pattern. Trump has repeatedly used the military

as a political prop, and now he's showing how easily that spectacle can become a blueprint

for authoritarian control. David Graham is a staff writer at the Atlantic, author of the Atlantic

Daily newsletter, and author of The Project, how Project 2025 is reshaping America. He joins us now

to talk about what this federal takeover could mean for D.C.

residents, for Democratic norms, and for Trump's broad strategy of forcing his opponents into

impossible choices. Hi, David. Welcome back to WM.N.Y.C. Oh, thank you for having me. David, what

exactly did Trump announce about the D.C. police and the National Guard? We keep saying

takeover. What are the details of it? Well, so there are two things. One is that Trump is deploying

the D.C. National Guard. Two enforce laws. So it's on the streets of the Capitol. They were

starting to fan out tomorrow, or last night, rather. And the D.C. National it's on the streets of the Capitol. They were starting to fan out tomorrow, or last

...