The unprecedentedly undemocratic presidency of Donald Trump is threatening to hit a new autocratic, dystopian low, and Washington, DC has unfortunately found itself squarely in his crosshairs.
For months, Trump and his congressional cronies have been hellbent on scaling back the District’s autonomy and forcing its local government to bend to his selfish, stupid will. Trump, who has long opposed the Black Lives Matter movement, pressured Mayor Muriel Bowser into painting over Black Lives Matter Plaza, a major progressive symbol, in downtown DC. Republican congressmen have introduced legislation that would eliminate DC’s home rule entirely and put the mayor and DC Council out of work.
Earlier this week, Trump again toyed with the idea of bringing the city under federal control. This was due to the District’s sanctuary city policies that restrict local authorities from cooperating with the Trump White House’s lawless immigration agents. Bowser, undoubtedly seeking to appease Trump, already attempted to repeal the city’s sanctuary city status back in May before being obstructed by the Council. But the mayor clearly isn’t moving quickly enough for Trump’s liking. Not only did he verbally threaten a federal takeover after Bowser tried to play ball, but Congress is currently at work trying to forcibly override the Council’s defense of immigrants.
Bowser, who recognizes that she could be the last mayor the city ever has if she doesn’t fall in line, is worlds apart from the mayor during Trump’s first term. That mayor, however, was still Bowser—just a much more defiant one.
The Bowser of Trump’s first term, seeing the new president as a maladroit buffoon (as so many of us did), rarely failed to speak truth to power. She fearlessly debunked his myths surrounding the January 6 Capitol insurrection and commissioned Black Lives Matter Plaza, a landmark that openly ran afoul of the President’s disdain for the movement.
The Bowser of Trump’s second term recognizes the commander-in-chief for who he is today: still a maladroit buffoon, but one with great destructive power and a very, very short fuse. He is a wailing infant with a fully loaded handgun. Mayor Bowser, understanding this, is doing her level best to keep from getting shot. But what does this mean for the 700,000 DC residents she swore under oath that she would take a bullet for?
There is no doubt in my, the mayor’s, and most District residents’ minds that the puling child in question poses a very real threat to the future of the city. As we know, DC was once completely without any semblance of self-determination. Trump has fashioned the prospect of returning to this state into a proverbial Sword of Damocles, constantly swinging it to and fro above the fretful mayor’s head.
But the alternate path chosen by Bowser is the path of conciliation, capitulation, and radio silence in the face of the most severe democratic backslide the nation has ever faced. The absolute last thing the city needs in the face of such danger is a pushover representing it. The residents, to be sure, know this well. But does the mayor?
Featured image courtesy of Getty Images/iStockphoto.