WASHINGTON — Top Democrats in the United States who are opposing President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., lead the most dangerous cities in the country.
Federal authorities shared Wednesday that they have arrested over 100 people in the nation’s capitol in the last week since Trump called in the National Guard and federalized D.C. police to crack down on violent crime. The move has been condemned by a number top Democrats, including Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and others.
These officials, somewhat surprisingly, come from states with extremely high crime rates. Oakland, California is ranked second on the list of most dangerous cities in the United States, and Baltimore is ranked the fourth most dangerous city in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Both California and Maryland are in the top 20 most dangerous states in the country.
“If Democrats had any common sense, they would follow President Trump’s lead to crack down on violent crime that has plagued our nation’s capital – and Democrat-run cities across the country,” White House deputy press secretary Taylor Rogers told The Daily Wire.
He was just getting warmed up in Los Angeles.
He will gaslight his way into militarizing any city he wants in America.
This is what dictators do. https://t.co/IPvx9Hrp0q
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 11, 2025
“Instead of criticizing President Trump’s popular, tough-on crime policies, they should focus on cleaning up their own cities which are some of the most dangerous places in America,” she added. “Public safety isn’t political, it’s a top priority for every American and the Democrats continue to brush under the rug.”
Rogers’s remarks echoed those of the president himself, who told The Daily Wire in the Oval Office on Thursday that Democrats would be much better off saying, “We want to help President Trump with the crime because it is an epidemic.”
“People are so happy to see our military going into D.C. and getting these thugs out,” the president told The Daily Wire as he took questions from reporters at the White House. “As you know, we arrested a lot of people yesterday….We are getting people that have arrest records that you wouldn’t believe.
“It’s another reason why the Democrats lost the election in a landslide,” he said. “They lie.”
During a press conference at the White House on Monday, the president specifically took aim at Oakland and Baltimore as he discussed cities that might need his help in over coming crime.
“And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don’t even mention that anymore there. They’re so far gone. We’re not going to let it happen.”
U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters with Frank Bisignano (L), Administrator of the Social Security Administration, in the Oval Office on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said that the president is wrong about her city, saying in a statement that “President Trump’s characterization of Oakland is wrong and not grounded in facts, but in fear-mongering. This is not leadership — it’s an attempt to score cheap political points by tearing down communities he doesn’t understand.”
“Our comprehensive public safety strategy is working — crime rates are coming down even though we still face many challenges. And let me repeat, President Trump is wrong.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore has also taken issue with the president’s remarks, describing himself “heartbroken” for those service members sent to D.C. and claiming that Trump is using the issue as a “tool” to distract his opponents.
“I’m embarrassed, I’m angered and, frankly, I’m heartbroken for members of the National Guard asked to take on this mission.”
“What we’re seeing right now, this distraction, distracting away from the fact that Donald Trump’s policies have caused unemployment to go up, have caused people to lose their health care, have caused children to be able to lose their food benefits and he’s now using this as a tool,” the governor said on CNN.
He added: “He’s using military personnel, these citizen soldiers, as a cudgel, and as a tool to be able to advance his political purposes.”
In response to Moore’s remarks, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Newsweek: “What’s truly embarrassing and heartbreaking is how long Democrat leaders have allowed violent crime to surge out of control in cities without taking action. It’s heartbreaking that in Washington D.C. innocent people are robbed, assaulted, and killed far too often.”
Memphis, Tennessee leads the nation as the number one most dangerous city in the United States. The city’s Democrat mayor, Paul Young, does not appear to have addressed Trump’s move to call in the National Guard to D.C. Young did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
St. Louis, Missouri, lands at number three on the list of most dangerous cities in the United States, and is also led by a Democrat mayor, Cara Spencer, who also does not appear to have weighed in on the president’s move. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
Detroit, Michigan, comes in at number five on the list of most dangerous cities in the United States. The city is led by Mayor Mike Duggan, an independent. The mayor’s spokesman John Roach referred The Daily Wire to crime statistics indicating that crime in the city dropped during 2024. Roach said that federal law enforcement in Detroit, including the U.S. Attorney, DEA, ATF, and FBI, are already full partners with the Detroit police in gun violence reduction.