President Donald Trump has called Washington, D.C., council member Janeese Lewis George a “communist” and said he plans to block policies that he argued would weaken public safety and reverse his administration’s efforts to lower crime in the nation’s capital.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said he intends to meet with Lewis George and contended that Washington has become safer under his administration. He also pledged to oppose any agenda that he said would weaken immigration enforcement, policing, or the city’s criminal justice system.
Lewis George, described by Fox News as a self-identified Democratic socialist and a member of the District of Columbia Council, is well-positioned to become the city’s next mayor after winning the recent Democratic primary.
Trump’s Truth Social post and his stated objections to her platform
In his post, Trump claimed Lewis George “has stated that she wants to empty the prisons, make D.C. a Sanctuary City, oppose ICE, welcome Criminal Illegal Aliens back into our beloved Capital, resist Anti-Crime Crackdowns, Defund the Police, continue and expand Cashless Bail, and so many other Capital destroying ‘things.'”
Trump also wrote, “In the end, it will never work out, nor will I let it even have a chance because I have worked too hard to make Washington, D.C., the Envy of the World, with almost No Crime, and a Beautification process that has been second to none.” He added that he would meet with Lewis George but said he “must forewarn everyone that Washington, D.C., is again a Safe and Prestigious Community.”
The president further stated, “Many people, including myself, have worked long and hard to get it there, and we will not let it be destroyed by a Communist adherent who has no intention to, MAKE WASHINGTON GREAT AGAIN!” His criticism of Lewis George echoes the way he has approached other progressive city leaders, as seen in his public clashes with New York’s mayor.
As Fox News stated, Lewis George defeated Kenyan McDuffie and five other candidates in the Democratic mayoral primary earlier this month, which positions her to succeed Mayor Muriel Bowser in a city where Democrats generally dominate general elections. Her primary victory sets the stage for a likely clash with Trump, who has made reducing crime in Washington and reshaping the capital a central focus of his second term.
Trump has maintained a National Guard presence in the city and has repeatedly threatened to end the District’s home rule if he believes local leaders fail to keep crime under control. He has tied some of those threats to his concerns about youth crime in the District.
Lewis George has apparently criticized Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and the expanded federal law enforcement presence in Washington. Following the president’s decision to deploy the Guard last year, she called the move “a direct attack” on the city’s residents and reportedly accused Trump of weaponizing the Home Rule Act.
During the mayoral campaign, Lewis George reportedly argued that “federal troops” and “masked ICE agents” posed a greater threat to young Washington residents than juvenile crime. She opposed relying on curfews and federal enforcement, and instead advocated for expanded youth programs and other community investments.
Fox News reported that Trump has previously suggested he would consider placing Washington under greater federal control if Lewis George were elected mayor. “I wouldn’t like it, and maybe we take back Washington, run it on the federal basis,” Trump told reporters. He also added, “We won’t put up with it. We’re not going to lose our businesses.”
