While Democrats and many in media scramble to oppose President Donald Trump’s efforts to use federal law enforcement to clean up Washington, D.C., Geraldo Rivera conceded that the nation’s capital “has been a s***-hole for a long time.”
Rivera gave his assessment during a recent appearance on NewsNation, saying that the rampant violent crime in the city was as bad as it had ever been — and may even have gotten worse.
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????NEW: Geraldo Rivera:
“D.C. has been — with all due respect to our nation’s capital — a sh*thole for a long time.”
“If anything, it is worse than ever!”@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/BIM919OKzN
— Jason Cohen ???????? (@JasonJournoDC) August 14, 2025
“D.C. has been, with all due respect to our nation’s capital, a s***-hole for a long time,” he said. “You know, it reminds me of the old LaGuardia airport that was — became so ghettoized, and so grim and dark and melancholy, that you get used to it.”
Of the National Guardsmen deployed to the city, he added, “Remember, these are citizen soldiers, the Guard. In broad strokes, I agree that the military should not be deployed for a law enforcement purpose. But these people, the Guard, the citizen soldiers are there for a different reason. They’re there to calm people down and to also project a presence. You see a couple of Guardsmen, even if they don’t have their long guns — and they don’t, thank God, have them as they are deployed — they’re there in a support function.”
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Rivera had previously posted his opinion on X, saying, “Trump’s right about shabby, scary Washington DC. When modest-sized city celebrates having ‘only’ 187 murders last year, it’s bad. Homeless encampments, public hard drug use, graffiti, filth; past time for the feds to paid attention to cleaning it up. Biden didn’t, due respect.”
Trump’s right about shabby, scary Washington DC.
When modest-sized city celebrates having “only” 187 murders last year, it’s bad. Homeless encampments, public hard drug use, graffiti, filth; past time for the feds to paid attention to cleaning it up. Biden didn’t, due respect.— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) August 13, 2025