Reference News Network, August 13 report: The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung website published an article titled "Trump Calls It 'Liberation Day'" on August 11. The author is Max Froud. The following is the translated content:

On the morning of the 11th, Trump conveyed a simple message in Washington D.C.: "We are reclaiming our capital." The U.S. president told the media and live streamers at the White House that the situation in Washington D.C. had gotten out of control. He said that a "public safety emergency" had occurred, and he would now take a "historic step."

In fact, he took two steps: First, the president announced that the police department in the capital would be placed under the control of Attorney General Bonta. Second, the National Guard would be mobilized to ensure public safety in the city.

Trump himself called his actions "Liberation Day." These measures amount to an escalation of the situation. Taking over the police department and mobilizing the National Guard is Trump showing power in Washington. The city is disliked by Trump, and its residents also lack affection for this president.

Several days earlier, Trump had already criticized the condition of the U.S. capital online. On his social media platform "Truth Social," he claimed that youth gang members were intimidating residents and tourists in the capital, while the police did nothing about it. In another post, he declared that homeless people must be expelled from the capital. At a press conference, he summarized the whole matter as "urban beautification measures."

The reality differs from what Republican Trump claims, at least according to statistics: According to federal data from January this year, the violent crime rate in Washington in 2024 has dropped to the lowest level in 30 years.

The underlying reason for Trump's escalation action is his dislike for Washington: This president is extremely unpopular in the city, and he only received 6.47% of the vote in the November election last year, with more than 90% of voters supporting Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. During the campaign, he repeatedly claimed he would "clean up Washington D.C." and called the city itself a "sewage pit full of rats and graffiti-covered walls."

Trump can easily place local police under his government's control and mobilize the National Guard due to a special legal framework. The U.S. capital does not belong to any state but is a federal district. The federal government always has the final say here. The District of Columbia Self-Government Act provides Washington D.C. with a certain degree of autonomy, but this autonomy law also allows the federal government to take over the police department when an emergency occurs in Washington D.C. From Trump's perspective, such an emergency indeed exists. He had previously threatened on "Truth Social" to place the capital entirely under federal government control.

Translation by Nie Litaotao

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7537987311741714994/

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