Washington, D.C., Police Chief Pamela Smith utterly embarrassed herself on a national stage after misunderstanding a very basic question asked by a reporter following the August 11, 2025, federalization of the DC police department.
Reacting to her hilariously inept remarks, many critics, including political figures and conservative influencers, have questioned Smith’s competence in a hilarious flurry of posts to social media. Others noted her previous role as Chief Equity Officer when discussing the debacle.
For context, Trump has justified his decision, much to the chagrin of soft-on-crime liberals, by pointing to the rampant crime plaguing the city, declaring it “Liberation Day” to restore order in the capital. Similarly, the president called in the National Guard to restore order.
In any case, the inciting incident began with the DC police chief taking questions from the press. A reporter asked a simple question: “Can you tell us what the chain of command is now?” Seemingly confused by this elementary term, Pamela Smith responded, “What does that mean?” To which the reporter clarified, “Well, is it Pam Bondi speaking to the mayor? Is it you? How does this work?”
In a vain attempt to bail the police chief out of this embarrassing situation, the woke DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, provided an answer. She said, “Our organizational chart, how we do business, how we fund the police, none of that has changed… Bondi is working as Trump’s ‘proxy’ under the federalization order, and the pair are in close communication.” She added, “We have more police, and we want to make sure we use them.”
When the clip was posted to social media, conservatives were enraged by this shocking example of incompetence. Prominent social media personality Libs of TikTok quipped, “This is who is in charge of the police in D.C…”
Others drew attention to Smith’s former role as a Chief Equity Officer. CJ Pearson noted, “This is why DEI is a disease.” Another comment read, “WTF! The DC Police Chief doesn’t even know what Chain of Command means.”
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Echoing these points, the Trump War Room account posted, “Smith previously served as the Police Department’s ‘Chief Equity Officer.'” Responding, another user reacted, “MIND BLOWING: D.C. police chief reveals she DOES NOT KNOW what chain of command is. Folks, this is the Washington, D.C. POLICE Chief.”
Explaining his reasoning for federalizing the DC police force, Trump described the violence plaguing our capital city. He announced, “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people… And we’re not going to let it happen anymore. We’re not going to take it.”
Watch the clip here:
Building on this point, he said, “We’re taking it back under the authority vested in me as the president of the United States. I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act… And placing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control… In addition, I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, D.C. And they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly.”
Featured image from embedded video