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TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Morning Brief 2024-09-17

September 17, 2024
Chris Brady

TOP OF HOUR 2
GUEST: Nicole Shanahan
TOPIC: We need to focus on UNIFYING this country.

BOTTOM OF HOUR 3
GUEST: Tulsi Gabbard
TOPIC: Is unity with Democrats possible in light of a second assassination attempt on President Trump?


Assassination Attempt...

‘They Wouldn’t Let Me Finish’: JD Vance Reveals Trump’s First Reaction To Gunman
The former president was "pissed off" his game of golf was disrupted, according to his running mate.

FBI Agent Investigating Second Assassination Attempt Allegedly Made ‘Anti-Trump’ Posts
Last year, however, a whistleblower told the House Judiciary Committee that the FBI made Special Agent Jeffrey Veltri scrub his anti-Trump social media posts before promoting him to lead the Miami Field Office, according to the Washington Times.

Acting USSS Director Dodges Blaze Media Questions
Julio Rosas asked Acting Secret Service Director Rowe how many assassination attempts Trump has to go through before drastic changes are made.

Alleged assassin’s criminal record, foreign travel raise questions US intel may be able to answer
Routh’s criminal record, foreign travel to Ukraine, and purported plans to recruit ex-Afghan soldiers to fight against Russia likely put Routh in the crosshairs of U.S. intelligence agencies.

Democrats set stage for 2 Trump assassination attempts with these 5 statements
While there are innumerable examples, here are some recent instances in which Democrats painted a target on Trump's back.

Democrats Did The Opposite Of ‘Lower The Temperature’ Between Trump Assassination Attempts
Democrats used the days following the first attempt on Trump's life to further smear the potential future president as the next Hitler, a “threat to democracy,” primary spreader of “fascism,” and an “existential danger” to the nation.

Don’t let the left memory-hole the attempts on Trump’s life
Republicans should resist the temptation to embrace conspiracy theories, but they must also ensure that the events in Butler, Pennsylvania, and West Palm Beach are not forgotten.

3 World Leaders Support Trump After 2nd Assassination Attempt
The rest have been silent.

Bedford: The Trump assassination attempts (and their friends in the media)
The political violence is forming a deeply inconvenient narrative.

Journalists Pounce on Trump Following Second Assassination Attempt
Former FBI expert says gunman likely "spurred on" by anti-Trump rhetoric routinely peddled by mainstream networks.

Trump Team Brings Receipts: Highlights 50+ Times Dems, Media Used Extreme Rhetoric About Trump
"Trump is a threat to our democracy and fundamental freedoms."

Media Will Speed Past Second Democrat Assassination Attempt On Trump Because They Helped Inspire It
Just like the first attempt on Donald Trump’s life, the media will be quick to move on, because they know they help inspire Democrat violence.

New Yorker: Trump Is a Threat to Democracy, and Saying So Is Not Incitement
Trump’s supporters have responded to both attempts on his life by muddying the waters, exploiting the near-tragedies with cynical efforts to redefine critiques of Trump’s authoritarian inclinations as violent provocation.

Alleged Trump Attacker Praised NBC’s Lester Holt, Who Blamed Trump For Latest Assassination Attempt
“I so enjoyed todays editorial closing that recognized our ignorance and pushed us to behave better —I would like that to happen every day …. please use your platform to make us all better people ….Thanks,” Routh’s 2021 post, directed at Holt, read.

News...

Iowa’s election officials are among those targeted with ‘suspicious’ parcels
State offices in at least four states have been evacuated in the last few days.

House intervenes in IRS whistleblower case, on behalf of whistleblowers
The House of Representatives on Monday said it would get involved because Congress has a "significant interest in whistleblowers providing information to Congress regarding waste, fraud, abuse, and other misconduct at federal agencies."

New California law will make your car nag you about slowing down
Senate Bill 961, which has passed in both the state House and Senate, mandates that each time your vehicle exceeds the speed limit by more than ten miles per hour, your car must "utilize a brief, one-time, visual and audio signal to alert the driver."

Fed-up sheriff tells parents to 'do your job' — warns he'll 'perp-walk' kids, release mug shots over hoax school threats
"Every time we make an arrest, your kid's photo is gonna be put out there. And, if I could do it, I'm going to perp-walk your kid so that everybody can see what your kid's up to."

70-year-old woman accused of tricking boy into sending her nude photos of himself, sextorting teen
Authorities said the geriatric alleged sextortionist demanded he send money to her Venmo account, after which the teen purportedly sent an initial payment of $1,700.

Politics...

Dem Senators Push For Huge Rate Cut As Election Day Draws Near
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper, and Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse requested the Fed issue a 0.75% cut at the FOMC meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Federal Court Denies Trump’s Request To Pause Manhattan Lawfare Despite SCOTUS Immunity Ruling
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied a request from Trump to pause his New York criminal prosecution brought by lawfare artist Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Free Speech...

Tim Walz Brags About Passing Laws That Restrict Speech
This week, a federal court will take up a case challenging a 2023 Minnesota law that prohibits employers from discussing religious or political matters at required meetings, including meetings on elections, regulations, and whether employees should join a union.

Meta bans RT, days after US accuses Russian outlet of disinformation
Social media giant Meta on Monday announced that it is banning Russian media outlet RT, days after the Biden administration accused RT of acting as an arm of Moscow’s spy agencies.

Economy...

Boeing freezes hiring in sweeping cost cuts as it grapples with factory worker strike
Boeing’s CFO said Friday that the company is focused on conserving cash.

Chipotle pilots new line of robots in California after $20 per hour wage
Chipotle Mexican Grill announced it is piloting an automatic avocado peeler and pit remover at one California location and an automatic bowl and salad machine at another as higher minimum wages increase relative yields from automation.

Immigration...

Abbott: Over 100 suspected Tren de Aragua gangbangers were part of the massive migrant group that rushed the border
The wild border rush saw hundreds of illegal migrants break through razor wire to dash into the U.S. — shoving Lone Star State troops in the process.

Ohio Gov: All Springfield Bomb Threats Were Hoaxes, Some Originated ‘Overseas’
"We have people, unfortunately, overseas who are taking these actions."

Huffington Post: Ohio City Cancels Culture Festival After Threats Linked To Racist Conspiracy Theories
Even though Huff Po reports the threats are actually hoaxes coming from overseas, it still blames Trump and Vance.

‘Migrant influencer’ who encouraged illegal aliens to be squatters is ordered to be deported
But here’s why he likely won’t be kicked out of the country.

COVID-19...

Reason: Should We Blame Fauci for the COVID Pandemic?
America's COVID celebrity is facing scrutiny for funding risky research that may have sparked the pandemic — and for allegedly covering it up.

Amazon tells employees to return to office five days a week
"Before the pandemic, it was not a given that folks could work remotely two days a week, and that will also be true moving forward."

Israel-Iran...

Houthi official says Biden-Harris offered to recognize terrorist group; US official denies claim
The U.S. offered to recognize the Houthi government in Sanaa in a bid to stop the Yemeni rebel group's attacks, a senior Houthi official said on Monday, in remarks that a U.S. official said were false.

US Trade With Iran Jumped Last Year as Tehran Wreaked Havoc Across Middle East
American trade with Iran jumped 43% last year, reaching more than $81 million at a time when Tehran’s hardline regime ramped up its terrorist efforts and wreaked havoc across the Middle East.

Man reportedly lit himself on fire outside Boston’s Israeli consulate to protest Gaza genocide
A man in Boston reportedly lit himself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Boston on September 11, making him the third person in the U.S. to self-immolate outside an Israeli consulate since the Gaza genocide began nearly one year ago.

Assault on Jewish University of Michigan Student Under Investigation as Hate Crime
A group attacked a University of Michigan student early Sunday morning after confirming he was Jewish, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department, which is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Muslim Justice League To Host Vigil For Anti-Israel Extremist Shot After Tackling Veteran
The group says Caleb Gannon "was shot by a Zionist" while confronting people "defending genocide."

Ukraine-Russia...

NATO's Stoltenberg says each country must decide if Ukraine can use its long-range missiles on Russia
The outgoing head of NATO said on Monday he welcomed talks on Ukraine's use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russian territory, but any decision on the issue would have to be made by individual allies.

Putin Orders Russian Army to Increase Troop Size by 180K
The latest expansion comes as Putin intensifies warnings that letting Ukraine use longer-range weapons to strike targets deep inside his country would put NATO “at war” with Russia.

Entertainment...

Bette Midler reposts conspiracy theory about shooting
She accuses Trump of inciting violence against Taylor Swift.

Howard Stern Says He 'Hates' Anyone Who Votes For Trump
The 70-year-old "shock jock" told his remaining audience, "I don't hate Trump. I hate the people who vote for him. I think they are stupid. I do. I have no respect for them. I'm at the end of my career, so f*** you and listen to another station if you don't like my views [on Trump]."

6 rappers who have shown support for Trump
Some of the support is fueled by Trump’s policies on criminal justice reform and economic initiatives. Other rappers are spurred by the need to be counterculture disruptors.

Creed Frontman Scott Stapp Urges Americans to Fight Back Against ‘Powers That Be’
“They want us divided. They want us separate. They want us compartmentalized in our little niches, in our own little groups ... to keep us distracted from holding them accountable,” the rocker said.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested at his NYC hotel by Homeland Security amid sex trafficking investigation
In March, Combs’ Beverly Hills and Miami mansions were simultaneously raided by Homeland Security.

Media...

Media tries to exploit man's death, imply a lynching: 'Black man found dead with rope around his neck'
The evidence released so far suggests it was a suicide.

Environment...

How Reliable Is America's Electrical Grid?
Until recently, Americans took electrical-grid reliability for granted.

Greta Thunberg's fall from climate icon to washed-up anti-Semite
The left’s climate darling Greta Thunberg has morphed from scolding world leaders into a radical activist chanting "crush Zionism" and sporting a keffiyeh, losing support from allies and drawing fire as "Anti-Semite of the Week" while trying to cling to relevance.

Education...

University officials face personal liability for dumping professor who questioned gender medicine
Three and a half years after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals prohibited a public university from retaliating against a professor for refusing to use a student's preferred pronouns, the Cincinnati-based court went even further by stripping qualified immunity in a similar case.

Health...

Government To Probe Race-Based Medical Care Programs at Prestigious Cleveland Clinic After Bias Allegations
The Department of Health and Human Services is investigating two programs at the Cleveland Clinic that offer preferential care to minorities, the first such probe by an agency that has been loath to police racial preferences under the Biden-Harris administration.

AI...

AI Pioneers Call for Protections Against ‘Catastrophic Risks’
Scientists from the United States, China, and other nations called for an international authority to oversee artificial intelligence.

AI experts ready 'Humanity's Last Exam' to stump powerful tech
A team of technology experts issued a global call on Monday seeking the toughest questions to pose to artificial intelligence systems, which increasingly have handled popular benchmark tests like child's play.

North Carolina law enforcement using AI to monitor police behavior
Police departments can generate thousands of hours of body-camera footage in a matter of weeks. To manually review it all would be an impossible task for a human — but not for artificial intelligence.

Technology...

FDA clears Apple Watch sleep apnea detection feature
Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature marks the company’s latest attempt to position its wearables as a cheaper, simpler alternative to many existing health-care tests and devices. And the sleep-disorder market could prove to be lucrative.

Sports...

'I am a Redskin' says Super Bowl winning quarterback Mark Rypien
"I never played for the Commanders. I absolutely support the Commanders and what they're doing now. But I never played for them," Rypien said. "I am not a Commanders' legend. I am a Redskin."

September 17, 2004 - Voter harassment... Stu's wife has her car keyed after placing a Bush bumper sticker on it... Little girl has Bush signed ripped out of her hand... More-On Trivia: Dallas vs. Cleveland... Bush yard sign horror stories... Voter harassment stories...

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.