President Donald J. Trump did something in Washington, D.C. that America’s leaders—Democrat and Republican alike—have failed to do for decades: he restored order.
Using clear constitutional authority, Trump directed federal forces and coordinated with local law enforcement to clean up the capital city. The results were immediate and measurable. For twelve straight days, the nation’s capital—long plagued by violent crime, open-air drug dealing, and a general sense of lawlessness—recorded zero murders. Nearly a thousand criminals were rounded up, prosecuted, and put behind bars. Residents and visitors alike reported the city felt safer than it had in years.
This wasn’t a study group. It wasn’t another mayor’s “task force” or “blue ribbon commission.” It was action. And it worked. And that’s precisely why Gavin Newsom, governor of California and would-be progressive champion, suddenly decided to act.
On Friday, Newsom announced that he would be deploying law enforcement resources into California cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and elsewhere to address “spiking crime.” The same Gavin Newsom who spent years belittling concerns about crime, excusing the behavior of repeat offenders, and empowering district attorneys who refuse to prosecute even violent criminals—suddenly has discovered the need to “restore order.” Why now? Because Trump embarrassed him.
The contrast was simply too obvious. Washington, D.C.—governed by Democrats at every level—was a showcase of urban chaos. Trump intervened, and within two weeks, that chaos evaporated. Meanwhile, California’s premier cities remain case studies in decline: open-air drug markets in San Francisco, smash-and-grab gangs terrorizing shoppers in Los Angeles, murder spikes in Oakland. Newsom, whose national ambitions are no secret, could not afford to stand by while Trump demonstrated—again—that leadership, willpower, and executive authority can produce real-world results. So, belatedly and begrudgingly, he is mimicking Trump.
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Now, let’s be clear. I am glad when any leader takes steps to reduce crime. Safer streets are good for everyone, regardless of party. If Newsom’s late-breaking deployment saves lives, no one will celebrate that more than the families spared the devastation of violence. But the timing cannot be ignored. Newsom didn’t act because his conscience was stirred. He didn’t act because residents begged him to. He didn’t act when shop owners boarded up their windows, when tourists fled his cities, or when families packed up and moved to Texas or Florida. He acted only when his political vulnerability was exposed—when Trump embarrassed the entire Democratic establishment by showing what results actually look like.
And Newsom’s “action” is a whisper compared to Trump’s decisive hammer. Newsom is sending a few dozen officers here, a handful there. It’s cosmetic, designed for headlines and Instagram reels. Meanwhile, the systemic rot he has overseen—soft-on-crime prosecutors, revolving-door jails, permissive drug culture, and unchecked homelessness—remains untouched. This is not real reform. It’s theater.
This has become a pattern. Democrats do not respond to crime until they are politically humiliated into doing so. When New York City hemorrhaged residents to Florida because of crime and taxes, suddenly Gov. Kathy Hochul started making symbolic noise about public safety. When Chicago’s murder rate embarrassed its mayor on the national stage, the Democratic machine scrambled for excuses before tossing Lori Lightfoot overboard. Now, when Trump restores order to Washington, D.C., Gavin Newsom—after years of denial—discovers that crime might, just maybe, be a problem in his state.
In each case, the action is too little and too late. Cities are already hollowed out. Families are already grieving. Businesses are already gone. But the political class wakes up only when their own power and image are threatened.
Trump’s approach underscores why he continues to dominate politically. He doesn’t wait for polls, task forces, or “public listening sessions.” He acts. He identifies the problem, wields executive authority, and delivers results. That clarity is why millions of Americans—across party lines—look at Trump and see a leader, even if they don’t always like his tweets.
Newsom, by contrast, dithers. He postures, deflects, and then, when cornered, borrows Trump’s playbook in miniature, hoping no one notices. But voters do notice. Californians living behind gates, installing cameras, and fleeing their own downtowns notice. So do Americans watching the side-by-side images: a cleaner, safer Washington under Trump versus chaotic California under Newsom.
I am glad Gavin Newsom is finally sending a few more officers into California’s cities. I hope those officers save lives. But let’s be honest about why it’s happening: Donald Trump embarrassed him. And that’s the larger lesson. When Democrats are forced to confront reality—when they are shamed by results they could never achieve themselves—they scramble to copy, to deflect, to imitate. But they never lead. They never anticipate. They never act until it’s far too late.
Trump acts first. Democrats react later. And Americans pay the price in between. Until the Democratic leadership class is replaced with men and women who are serious about law and order from day one—not day 10,001—the cycle will continue. Families will bury their dead. Businesses will close. Neighborhoods will decline. And only when Donald J. Trump again shames them into action will they move. But by then, as California proves, it will be far too little, far too late.
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