President Donald Trump mocked the renewed calls for the District of Columbia to become the 51st state, calling it “ridiculous.”

“Statehood is ridiculous,” Trump said Wednesday during a press conference at the Kennedy Center. “We want to straighten the place out. Statehood’s ridiculous. It’s unacceptable. The Democrats want it because the Democrats have about 95% in this little area.”

Recommended Stories

• Vance talks end of Russia-Ukraine war in remarks to troops in England
• WATCH LIVE: Trump makes announcement at Kennedy Center
• Trump utilizes national emergency declarations to deploy agenda

“They wanna pick up two senators, and it’s not gonna happen,” the president added.

TRUMP’S TAKEOVER OF DC POLICE RENEWS THE 51ST STATE DEBATE

Trump’s decision this week to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department and deploy law enforcement officials from ICE, the FBI, and the National Guard has reignited the movement for D.C. statehood from Democrats at the local and national levels.

Though D.C. police data shows that violent crime in the district is at a 30-year low, the exponential increase of juvenile crime in several Washington neighborhoods prompted Trump to take control of the district. Democrats have largely pushed back against this, arguing it is a step toward authoritarianism, while Republicans are eager to see a federal takeover and are pushing for Congress to go further and repeal D.C.’s “home rule.”

Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser advocated for statehood on Monday while also offering a muted response to Trump’s federal takeover of the district, where the president and Republicans have claimed crime is out of control.

However, Bowser took a stronger stance on Wednesday, stating that the D.C. community needs to band together and do what they can to “protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule, and get to the other side of this guy, and make sure we elect a Democratic house so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push.”

Washington is unlikely to become a state in this political climate, given the narrow margins in the House and the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate. Republicans would be unlikely to support a measure that would grant the solid blue territory statehood and, therefore, likely give them two new Democratic seats in the Senate.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who has pushed for statehood multiple times while serving in office, is introducing a bill when Congress returns in September to grant the District of Columbia full control over the MPD and D.C. National Guard. The bill is unlikely to pass or even make it to the floor in the GOP-controlled chambers.

DC POLICE UNION BLAMES COUNCILMAN FOR CRIME SURGE: ‘IT’S YOUR FAULT’

Trump’s takeover of Washington’s police department can only extend for 30 days, unless Congress grants him an extension, which the president told reporters Wednesday he planned to do. Trump also stated he would be requesting a “relatively small amount of money” from Congress as part of his efforts to clean up the District.

“We’re going to make Washington beautiful. We’re going to redo roads. We’re going to redo the medians, the pavers and the medians all throughout the city,” Trump said. “We’re going to take all the graffiti off. We’re going to have to remove the tents and the people that are living in our parks. We’re going to be redoing the parks, the grasses, and all.”