As a part of the White House press pool, I crammed into a frigid van on Saturday morning, toward the back of President Trump’s motorcade en route to his Virginia golf course. We passed a grimy tent encampment on our way out of the city, and I wondered to myself whether Trump was peering out the window.
My question seemed to be answered the following day. On Truth Social, the president posted pictures likely taken from the motorcade that morning or the next, as he returned for another round of golf. Alongside images of roadside tents and trash, Trump wrote, “We’re having a News Conference tomorrow in the White House. I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.” Sure enough, at a marathon briefing on Monday morning, Trump announced that he was placing the DC police force under federal control and deploying the National Guard to secure streets long blighted by disorder — and bloodied by the fourth highest homicide rate in the nation.
At first, I hardly noticed the encampment. My parents dropped me off for college at Foggy Bottom 14 years ago this month, and as far as I can remember, tents have dotted that part of the city ever since. But rumours were swirling that a federal takeover of DC was imminent, so I spent the ride thinking back on the last decade.
