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Glenn's Show Prep

Morning Brief 2024-08-19

August 19, 2024
Chris Brady

TOP OF HOUR 2
GUEST: Megan Basham
TOPIC: How George Soros is trying to infiltrate YOUR church.

BOTTOM OF HOUR 2
GUEST: Steve Baker
TOPIC: New questions are raised in DNC pipe-bomb story.


Glenn Beck...

YouTube calls Tommy Robinson video on UK riots 'offensive,' censors and limits reach. Glenn says: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
It's just the latest example of censorship by Big Tech.

News...

Body of Trump's would-be assassin is 'gone,' congressman reveals
Rep. Clay Higgins also says "the FBI cleaned up biological evidence from the crime scene, which is unheard of. Cops don’t do that, ever."

Plane carrying JD Vance forced to make emergency landing
JD Vance's campaign plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a door malfunction occurred in flight on Friday afternoon.

Gate at Joint Base San Antonio Is Site of Two Shootings, Officials Say
Separate episodes of gunfire happened hours apart early on Saturday at a gate to the military installation. A motive was unclear, the authorities said.

Atlanta Hospital Sued After Allegedly Losing Part Of Surgery Patient’s Skull, Billing $19K For Replacement
The misplacement of the original skull piece and subsequent issues contributed to a prolonged hospital stay and additional medical expenses totaling over $146,845.60, according to the court documents.

DNC...

Free vasectomies, abortions for DNC attendees
Planned Parenthood will provide the services at a mobile health clinic during the Democratic National Convention.

100,000 Anti-Israel Protesters Expected To Descend Across Chicago During Democratic Convention
The largest rally expected for the convention was organized by a coalition of 125 anti-Israel groups, according to the Post.

Downtown Chicago businesses boarding up ahead of anti-Israel protests at DNC
“You get that phone call in the middle of the night and your heart jumps out of your chest,” said one business owner. “We want to sleep a little more soundly at night, and this gives us a little security."

Majority of anti-Semitic incidents committed by leftists, not Islamists or neo-Nazis, research finds
With the Democratic National Convention starting, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to protest the event in Chicago.

Video: Democrats are building a huge wall around the DNC convention

Harris - Walz...

Kamala ‘Serves Up A Fresh Word Salad’ About Democracy
“As a democracy, we know there’s a duality to the nature of democracy.”

Media begins to turn on Harris over economic policy ‘gimmicks’
“Harris’s plan to stop price gouging could create more problems than it solves,” one CNN headline reads. The Washington Post op-ed titled, “The times demand serious economic ideas. Harris supplies gimmicks.” The latter piece pushed back on Harris’ claims that price gouging is causing inflation.

Obama economist hopes Harris doesn't actually implement her policies: 'There’s no upside here'
Harvard economist Jason Furman told the New York Times that her policies just don't make sense.

‘Kamalanomics’ is just ‘Bidenomics’ but dumber
At her first major economic address on Friday in North Carolina, Harris unveiled proposals on everything from grocery prices, to child tax credits, to housing. At every turn, the only way Harris diverges from Biden’s failed economic plans is to make them worse.

'Xe/xem': Pick your pronouns to work for Harris campaign
This agenda of the Harris campaign is consistent with policies of the Biden-Harris administration, which has worked to encourage gender transition attempts for federal employees.

Walz administration awarded $2 million to Muslim group fundraising for Al-Qaeda-linked charity
News of the Walz administration’s grants to the IANA comes as the Democratic vice presidential candidate faces backlash after a series of Washington Examiner reports revealed his ties to Muslim cleric Asad Zaman.

WSJ: Harris Was Hamstrung by Caution. Now She’s the Democrats’ Driving Force.
Her deferential approach to Biden and early missteps gave way to sharper skills, business ties; a turning point with abortion fight.

MacIntyre: The magical media makeover of Kamala Harris
How do you sell a DEI candidate with the charisma of a wooden block who is functionally the incumbent? You lie. A lot.

Pat Gray: Obama embarrassingly chases Kamala’s ‘BRAT’ buzz with Gen Z-studded ‘summer playlist’
“This is a gift from Barack Obama,” Pat Gray of “Pat Gray Unleashed” jokes, adding “a gift to the world.”

Politics...

Trump Hammers ‘Comrade Kamala’ Over Her Plan For ‘Soviet’ Price Controls
“Kamala went full-communist. She went full-communist,” Trump said during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. “She wants to destroy our country. After causing catastrophic inflation, comrade Kamala announced that she wants to institute socialist price controls."

US looks to ban election betting as traders flock to prediction sites
The CFTC’s crackdown on political futures contracts faces stiff resistance as some markets want to allow wagers of millions of dollars.

Wisconsin election officials keep Green Party candidate on ballot
The officials rebuffed DNC employee's demand to remove Jill Stein from the ballot.

Economy...

The Extreme Renters Who Own Nothing, Not Even Their Jeans
It’s not just leasing your car. Christmas trees, camping gear, and even caskets are up for rent.

Veteran hedge fund manager issues grim warning over the future of the US stock market: 'This is a stark red flag'
The billionaire investor said we're on the verge of the biggest stock-market bubble in history, which inevitably will end with a burst as it did in 2008.

Immigration...

Gretchen Whitmer: ‘The Spirit Of’ Giving Free Handouts To Illegal Aliens Should Be Part Of Harris’ Agenda
Harris campaign co-chair Gretchen Whitmer says giving drivers' licenses, free college, and free health care to illegal aliens — like Timothy Walz did — is "pragmatic" policy that will "resonate with Americans."

Cash-Strapped California Inches Closer To Handing Taxpayer Home Loans To Illegal Aliens
The legislation seeks to amend the California Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan program, an initiative launched last year that provides first-time homebuyers with a loan of up to 20% of the house’s purchase price for down payment or closing cost.

Viruses...

Vaccine makers see share prices spike as concerns grow over monkeypox outbreak
The share prices of a number of health care and pharmaceutical companies worldwide rose on Friday as the WHO declared a rapidly spreading African Mpox outbreak a public health emergency.

Israel - Iran...

Hamas rejects US ‘bridging’ offer as Blinken lands in Israel to advance hostage deal
The U.S. proposal essentially corresponds to Netanyahu’s rejection of a permanent ceasefire and a refusal to allow for the IDF to fully withdraw from Gaza, Hamas said.

Hamas official storms off CNN after being pressed on Oct. 7, blame for Gazan deaths
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan stormed off an interview with CNN anchor Jim Sciutto on Saturday night when the exchange got heated on the topics of October 7 and the terror group's responsibility for the deaths of innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

NYT reporter linked to leak of Australian Jews’ details, which led to doxxing attacks
The New York Times said it had taken “appropriate action” against its reporter, after it came to light that she had leaked private details from a WhatsApp group in which some 600 Australian Jewish creatives had sought support amid surging anti-Semitism.

Iran...

Military experts suggest Iran may declare itself a nuclear power by year's end
"The Israelis are bogged down, and you've got months before — if Trump wins — before he comes to power, and by then you have established nuclear power and what's going to happen."

Tehran Times: First trial for US-orchestrated putsch held in Tehran
An Iranian court has commenced the trial of the U.S. administration and its officials for their role in the 1953 coup against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.

Ukraine-Russia...

FBI raids US home of Russian-born analyst who advised Trump in 2016
“A number of prominent Americans were subjected to searches or even put in jail, or made bankrupt. So, this is the way American law enforcement is working today? If somebody goes against the political mainstream, in particular against the Biden administration, the punishment may be very swift.”

Biden ‘open’ to sending long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine
The Pentagon is already working through fixes to allow Ukraine to launch the weapons from its fighter planes.

Russia says Ukraine used Western weapons to destroy bridge in Kursk
Moscow says destruction of bridge in western Russia will hinder the evacuation of civilians amid Ukrainian incursion.

Russia denies report about indirect talks with Ukraine
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Ukraine and Russia were set to send delegations to Qatar this month to negotiate a landmark agreement halting strikes on energy and power infrastructure on both warring sides.

Belarusian Leader Says One-Third Of Army Deployed To Ukraine Border
Lukashenka said the decision was made in response to Ukraine allegedly maintaining 120,000 soldiers near the border with Belarus and amassing more forces.

Safety deteriorating at Ukraine nuclear plant after drone strike, IAEA warns
The drone struck about 100 meters from the Dniprovska power line — the only remaining 750-kilovolt line providing a power supply to the plant, which is needed to operate the plant.

Pipeline...

How did divers manage to blow up the Nord Stream pipeline? We went down to the spot to find out
We arrived at 6 a.m. A Russian military ship appeared. Through our radio, we heard, "Russian warship delta echo, U.S. warship Yankee." The U.S. Navy was trying to make contact with the Russian Navy right before our eyes. How could a sabotage operation have gone on undetected in this environment?

Suggestions Poland helped Nord Stream sabotage are groundless, says presidential aide
Germany's former intelligence chief August Hanning told Die Welt that he believed there were agreements between presidents of Poland and Ukraine to carry out the attack.

Germany’s Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant demolished
The demolition of the plant's two massive cooling towers was delayed after a pro-nuclear energy activist scaled one of the pylons in protest at its destruction. Germany is aiming to have around 80% of its electricity supplied from renewable sources by 2050.

China...

Return: The elites dream of turning America into China. Sadly, they're succeeding.
The CCP model is the ultimate version of control our rulers want to see here.

Free Speech...

X closes operations in Brazil, blames judge’s ‘censorship’ orders
Social media platform X is shuttering its operations in Brazil “immediately” after the country’s top judge allegedly threatened to arrest the company’s legal representative in secret for not complying with orders to shut down certain accounts, the company posted Saturday.

Britain's Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to crack down on people 'pushing hateful beliefs'
She orders a review to identify gaps in the system to tackle extremist ideologies including extreme misogyny.

Entertainment...

Align: Why do we love 'Twisters'? Call it the Maverick effect
No superheroes or Jedi warriors; just regular Americans showing up and doing their duty.

Inside Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s hot yacht summer with Kim Kardashian, Leo & more
The world’s second-richest man and his fiancée have been cruising the Mediterranean with A-list celebrity friends — including Leonardo DiCaprio and Katy Perry — all summer.

Media...

Turley: The Curious Story of Taylor Lorenz ... and Belated Concerns of the Washington Post
The “tech columnist” for the Post has drawn continual criticism over public meltdowns and alleged doxxing. However, the Post seemed to value her notoriety ... until she posted a picture of President Joe Biden with “war criminal” on it.

The Atlantic: Conservative Women Have a New Phyllis Schlafly: BlazeTV's Allie Beth Stuckey
A rising star on the religious right thanks to her "Relatable" podcast, Allie Beth Stuckey knows what’s good for you.

Environment...

Amazon Vies for Nuclear-Powered Data Center
Putting a data center right next to a nuclear power plant so that it can draw electricity from it directly, rather than from the grid, is becoming more common. “They’re effectively going behind the meter and taking that capacity off of the grid that would otherwise serve all customers.”

Like the electric vehicle mandates, sustainable aviation losing altitude shortly after takeoff
Sustainable aviation fuel is five times more expensive to produce than standard jet fuel. The expense will drive up the cost of air travel, putting it outside the budgets of more Americans.

Solid state batteries to unlock a new battery paradigm
In a recent report, the investment bank Bernstein highlighted that solid state batteries could deliver 50% higher energy density at the cell level, enabling EVs to achieve a range of 500 miles or more with rapid charging times of under 10 minutes, all while being safer.

LGBTQIA2S+...

Supreme Court rejects Biden-Harris admin request to reinstate rules on LGBTQ+ students in colleges
"Importantly, all Members of the Court today accept that the plaintiffs were entitled to preliminary injunctive relief as to three provisions of the rule," read the majority opinion.

The transgender medical agenda’s horrific toll on young girls gets exposed
Data recently highlighted by the Manhattan Institute’s Leo Sapir show that thousands upon thousands of such surgeries have been performed on female minors in just the last few years.

Tech...

Flashback to 2010: Google CEO Suggests You Change Your Name to Escape His Permanent Record
“He predicts, apparently seriously, that every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends’ social media sites.”

People are falling in love with — and getting addicted to — AI voices
Even OpenAI warns that chatting with an AI voice can breed “emotional reliance.”

August 19, 2010 - Google CEO thinks children should be able to change names… Michelle Obama on traditions… If America fails there is nowhere else…

Trump's proposal explained: Ukraine's path to peace without NATO expansion

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor | Getty Images

Strategic compromise, not absolute victory, often ensures lasting stability.

When has any country been asked to give up land it won in a war? Even if a nation is at fault, the punishment must be measured.

After World War I, Germany, the main aggressor, faced harsh penalties under the Treaty of Versailles. Germans resented the restrictions, and that resentment fueled the rise of Adolf Hitler, ultimately leading to World War II. History teaches that justice for transgressions must avoid creating conditions for future conflict.

Ukraine and Russia must choose to either continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

Russia and Ukraine now stand at a similar crossroads. They can cling to disputed land and prolong a devastating war, or they can make concessions that might secure a lasting peace. The stakes could not be higher: Tens of thousands die each month, and the choice between endless bloodshed and negotiated stability hinges on each side’s willingness to yield.

History offers a guide. In 1967, Israel faced annihilation. Surrounded by hostile armies, the nation fought back and seized large swaths of territory from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Yet Israel did not seek an empire. It held only the buffer zones needed for survival and returned most of the land. Security and peace, not conquest, drove its decisions.

Peace requires concessions

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says both Russia and Ukraine will need to “get something” from a peace deal. He’s right. Israel proved that survival outweighs pride. By giving up land in exchange for recognition and an end to hostilities, it stopped the cycle of war. Egypt and Israel have not fought in more than 50 years.

Russia and Ukraine now press opposing security demands. Moscow wants a buffer to block NATO. Kyiv, scarred by invasion, seeks NATO membership — a pledge that any attack would trigger collective defense by the United States and Europe.

President Donald Trump and his allies have floated a middle path: an Article 5-style guarantee without full NATO membership. Article 5, the core of NATO’s charter, declares that an attack on one is an attack on all. For Ukraine, such a pledge would act as a powerful deterrent. For Russia, it might be more palatable than NATO expansion to its border

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

Peace requires concessions. The human cost is staggering: U.S. estimates indicate 20,000 Russian soldiers died in a single month — nearly half the total U.S. casualties in Vietnam — and the toll on Ukrainians is also severe. To stop this bloodshed, both sides need to recognize reality on the ground, make difficult choices, and anchor negotiations in security and peace rather than pride.

Peace or bloodshed?

Both Russia and Ukraine claim deep historical grievances. Ukraine arguably has a stronger claim of injustice. But the question is not whose parchment is older or whose deed is more valid. The question is whether either side is willing to trade some land for the lives of thousands of innocent people. True security, not historical vindication, must guide the path forward.

History shows that punitive measures or rigid insistence on territorial claims can perpetuate cycles of war. Germany’s punishment after World War I contributed directly to World War II. By contrast, Israel’s willingness to cede land for security and recognition created enduring peace. Ukraine and Russia now face the same choice: Continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The loneliness epidemic: Are machines replacing human connection?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

Seniors, children, and the isolated increasingly rely on machines for conversation, risking real relationships and the emotional depth that only humans provide.

Jill Smola is 75 years old. She’s a retiree from Orlando, Florida, and she spent her life caring for the elderly. She played games, assembled puzzles, and offered company to those who otherwise would have sat alone.

Now, she sits alone herself. Her husband has died. She has a lung condition. She can’t drive. She can’t leave her home. Weeks can pass without human interaction.

Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.

But CBS News reports that she has a new companion. And she likes this companion more than her own daughter.

The companion? Artificial intelligence.

She spends five hours a day talking to her AI friend. They play games, do trivia, and just talk. She says she even prefers it to real people.

My first thought was simple: Stop this. We are losing our humanity.

But as I sat with the story, I realized something uncomfortable. Maybe we’ve already lost some of our humanity — not to AI, but to ourselves.

Outsourcing presence

How often do we know the right thing to do yet fail to act? We know we should visit the lonely. We know we should sit with someone in pain. We know what Jesus would do: Notice the forgotten, touch the untouchable, offer time and attention without outsourcing compassion.

Yet how often do we just … talk about it? On the radio, online, in lectures, in posts. We pontificate, and then we retreat.

I asked myself: What am I actually doing to close the distance between knowing and doing?

Human connection is messy. It’s inconvenient. It takes patience, humility, and endurance. AI doesn’t challenge you. It doesn’t interrupt your day. It doesn’t ask anything of you. Real people do. Real people make us confront our pride, our discomfort, our loneliness.

We’ve built an economy of convenience. We can have groceries delivered, movies streamed, answers instantly. But friendships — real relationships — are slow, inefficient, unpredictable. They happen in the blank spaces of life that we’ve been trained to ignore.

And now we’re replacing that inefficiency with machines.

AI provides comfort without challenge. It eliminates the risk of real intimacy. It’s an elegant coping mechanism for loneliness, but a poor substitute for life. If we’re not careful, the lonely won’t just be alone — they’ll be alone with an anesthetic, a shadow that never asks for anything, never interrupts, never makes them grow.

Reclaiming our humanity

We need to reclaim our humanity. Presence matters. Not theory. Not outrage. Action.

It starts small. Pull up a chair for someone who eats alone. Call a neighbor you haven’t spoken to in months. Visit a nursing home once a month — then once a week. Ask their names, hear their stories. Teach your children how to be present, to sit with someone in grief, without rushing to fix it.

Turn phones off at dinner. Make Sunday afternoons human time. Listen. Ask questions. Don’t post about it afterward. Make the act itself sacred.

Humility is central. We prefer machines because we can control them. Real people are inconvenient. They interrupt our narratives. They demand patience, forgiveness, and endurance. They make us confront ourselves.

A friend will challenge your self-image. A chatbot won’t.

Our homes are quieter. Our streets are emptier. Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.

Before we worry about how AI will reshape humanity, we must first practice humanity. It can start with 15 minutes a day of undivided attention, presence, and listening.

Change usually comes when pain finally wins. Let’s not wait for that. Let’s start now. Because real connection restores faster than any machine ever will.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Exposed: The radical Left's bloody rampage against America

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

For years, the media warned of right-wing terror. But the bullets, bombs, and body bags are piling up on the left — with support from Democrat leaders and voters.

For decades, the media and federal agencies have warned Americans that the greatest threat to our homeland is the political right — gun-owning veterans, conservative Christians, anyone who ever voted for President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden once declared that white supremacy is “the single most dangerous terrorist threat” in the nation.

Since Trump’s re-election, the rhetoric has only escalated. Outlets like the Washington Post and the Guardian warned that his second term would trigger a wave of far-right violence.

As Democrats bleed working-class voters and lose control of their base, they’re not moderating. They’re radicalizing.

They were wrong.

The real domestic threat isn’t coming from MAGA grandmas or rifle-toting red-staters. It’s coming from the radical left — the anarchists, the Marxists, the pro-Palestinian militants, and the anti-American agitators who have declared war on law enforcement, elected officials, and civil society.

Willful blindness

On July 4, a group of black-clad terrorists ambushed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Alvarado, Texas. They hurled fireworks at the building, spray-painted graffiti, and then opened fire on responding law enforcement, shooting a local officer in the neck. Journalist Andy Ngo has linked the attackers to an Antifa cell in the Dallas area.

Authorities have so far charged 14 people in the plot and recovered AR-style rifles, body armor, Kevlar vests, helmets, tactical gloves, and radios. According to the Department of Justice, this was a “planned ambush with intent to kill.”

And it wasn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a growing pattern of continuous violent left-wing incidents since December last year.

Monthly attacks

Most notably, in December 2024, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione allegedly gunned down UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Mangione reportedly left a manifesto raging against the American health care system and was glorified by some on social media as a kind of modern Robin Hood.

One Emerson College poll found that 41% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 said the murder was “acceptable” or “somewhat acceptable.”

The next month, a man carrying Molotov cocktails was arrested near the U.S. Capitol. He allegedly planned to assassinate Trump-appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

In February, the “Tesla Takedown” attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships started picking up traction.

In March, a self-described “queer scientist” was arrested after allegedly firebombing the Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Graffiti on the burned building read “ICE = KKK.”

In April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-Pa.) official residence was firebombed on Passover night. The suspect allegedly set the governor’s mansion on fire because of what Shapiro, who is Jewish, “wants to do to the Palestinian people.”

In May, two young Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Witnesses said the shooter shouted “Free Palestine” as he was being arrested. The suspect told police he acted “for Gaza” and was reportedly linked to the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

In June, an Egyptian national who had entered the U.S. illegally allegedly threw a firebomb at a peaceful pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado. Eight people were hospitalized, and an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor later died from her injuries.

That same month, a pro-Palestinian rioter in New York was arrested for allegedly setting fire to 11 police vehicles. In Los Angeles, anti-ICE rioters smashed cars, set fires, and hurled rocks at law enforcement. House Democrats refused to condemn the violence.

Barbara Davidson / Contributor | Getty Images

In Portland, Oregon, rioters tried to burn down another ICE facility and assaulted police officers before being dispersed with tear gas. Graffiti left behind read: “Kill your masters.”

On July 7, a Michigan man opened fire on a Customs and Border Protection facility in McAllen, Texas, wounding two police officers and an agent. Border agents returned fire, killing the suspect.

Days later in California, ICE officers conducting a raid on an illegal cannabis farm in Ventura County were attacked by left-wing activists. One protester appeared to fire at federal agents.

This is not a series of isolated incidents. It’s a timeline of escalation. Political assassinations, firebombings, arson, ambushes — all carried out in the name of radical leftist ideology.

Democrats are radicalizing

This isn’t just the work of fringe agitators. It’s being enabled — and in many cases encouraged — by elected Democrats.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz routinely calls ICE “Trump’s modern-day Gestapo.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attempted to block an ICE operation in her city. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu compared ICE agents to a neo-Nazi group. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson referred to them as “secret police terrorizing our communities.”

Apparently, other Democratic lawmakers, according to Axios, are privately troubled by their own base. One unnamed House Democrat admitted that supporters were urging members to escalate further: “Some of them have suggested what we really need to do is be willing to get shot.” Others were demanding blood in the streets to get the media’s attention.

A study from Rutgers University and the National Contagion Research Institute found that 55% of Americans who identify as “left of center” believe that murdering Donald Trump would be at least “somewhat justified.”

As Democrats bleed working-class voters and lose control of their base, they’re not moderating. They’re radicalizing. They don’t want the chaos to stop. They want to harness it, normalize it, and weaponize it.

The truth is, this isn’t just about ICE. It’s not even about Trump. It’s about whether a republic can survive when one major party decides that our institutions no longer apply.

Truth still matters. Law and order still matter. And if the left refuses to defend them, then we must be the ones who do.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

America's comeback: Trump is crushing crime in the Capitol

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

Trump’s DC crackdown is about more than controlling crime — it’s about restoring America’s strength and credibility on the world stage.

Donald Trump on Monday invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control and deploying the National Guard to restore law and order. This move is long overdue.

D.C.’s crime problem has been spiraling for years as local authorities and Democratic leadership have abandoned the nation’s capital to the consequences of their own failed policies. The city’s murder rate is about three times higher than that of Islamabad, Pakistan, and 18 times higher than that of communist-led Havana, Cuba.

When DC is in chaos, it sends a message to the world that America is weak.

Theft, assaults, and carjackings have transformed many of its streets into war zones. D.C. saw a 32% increase in homicides from 2022 to 2023, marking the highest number in two decades and surpassing both New York and Los Angeles. Even if crime rates dropped to 2019 levels, that wouldn’t be good enough.

Local leaders have downplayed the crisis, manipulating crime stats to preserve their image. Felony assault, for example, is no longer considered a “violent crime” in their crime stats. Same with carjacking. But the reality on the streets is different. People in D.C. are living in constant fear.

Trump isn’t waiting for the crime rate to improve on its own. He’s taking action.

Broken windows theory in action

Trump’s takeover of D.C. puts the “broken windows theory” into action — the idea that ignoring minor crimes invites bigger ones. When authorities look the other way on turnstile-jumping or graffiti, they signal that lawbreaking carries no real consequence.

Rudy Giuliani used this approach in the 1990s to clean up New York, cracking down on small offenses before they escalated. Trump is doing the same in the capital, drawing a hard line and declaring enough is enough. Letting crime fester in Washington tells the world that the seat of American power tolerates lawlessness.

What Trump is doing for D.C. isn’t just about law enforcement — it’s about national identity. When D.C. is in chaos, it sends a message to the world that America is weak. The capital city represents the soul of the country. If we can’t even keep our own capital safe, how can we expect anyone to take us seriously?

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

Reversing the decline

Anyone who has visited D.C. regularly over the past several years has witnessed its rapid decline. Homeless people bathe in the fountains outside Union Station. People are tripping out in Dupont Circle. The left’s negligence is a disgrace, enabling drug use and homelessness to explode on our capital’s streets while depriving these individuals of desperately needed care and help.

Restoring law and order to D.C. is not about politics or scoring points. It’s about doing what’s right for the people. It’s about protecting communities, taking the vulnerable off the streets, and sending the message to both law-abiding and law-breaking citizens alike that the rule of law matters.

D.C. should be a lesson to the rest of America. If we want to take our cities back, we need leadership willing to take bold action. Trump is showing how to do it.

Now, it’s time for other cities to step up and follow his lead. We can restore law and order. We can make our cities something to be proud of again.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.