A Republican president taking military action against Democrat-controlled cities sounds like something out of a cheap airport thriller. But, sadly, this hackneyed and unlikely premise has somehow become our reality.
Earlier this year Donald Trump decided to show Los Angeles who’s boss by ordering the National Guard into the city against the express wishes of the Governor and Mayor. Trump had his brave boys assaulting a city park and succeed in their lethal mission of briefly disrupting a kid’s softball game. Ah, the dignity of our troops.
Since then, there have been rumblings that he was going for a repeat performance, and Washington DC just experienced its own takeover. Trump insists he’s battling crime, but DC residents overwhelmingly dislike seeing troops on the streets and say he’s made them feel much less safe than before. So, what’s next?
We may have a clue, thanks to the gurning and gormless Donald Trump Jr. Taking to NewsMax, he crowed about his daddy’s aggressive takeover. First, he claimed that 93% of the DC population are “hardened leftists” who’d been forced to admit the city had been saved (logic, facts, and evidence suggest otherwise). Then he continued:
Donald Trump Jr on Trump's DC takeover: "Maybe we should roll out the tour to Portland, Seattle, the other what we'd call craphole cities of the country." pic.twitter.com/4VLPBA14TP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2025
“Maybe we should roll out the tour to Portland, Seattle. What we call “craphole cities of the country”… Uh, not because they’re crapholes but because Democrats made them so. Maybe we can expand this.”
Winning hearts and minds!
Aside from anything else, I really like how Don Jr. immediately realizes that maybe dubbing two major cities as “crapholes” might not play well, before arguing he doesn’t call them crapholes “because they’re crapholes”. Truly, a sterling example of cast-iron nepo baby failson logic.
But though Don. Jr is an idiot, he’s a disturbingly powerful idiot. Trump has already invaded two cities, so Seattle and Portland should be wary that they’re next on the hit list for an authoritarian clampdown.
The bigger picture is clear. Trump will not tolerate dissent from Democratic strongholds and is more than willing to turn the military against American civilians in a direct show of force that shows them the consequences of resistance. If you’d have told me even a year ago that this would be the reality in 2025, I’d think you’d read too many Tom Clancy novels. But hey, here we are. It’s awful.
