Is the District of Colombia, America’s capital city, safe to visit? One would hope so, given that it’s theoretically the center of American power and, as such, would be kept free of out-of-control crime. Unfortunately, as recent carjackings and homicides show, it might not be. KJP did the city no favors when asked about it during the Wednesday, February 14 press conference.
That came when the White House Press Secretary was asked, in the context of violent crime in the city and a recent shooting in which three police officers were shot during an arrest attempt, “[Y]ou know — in D.C., homicides are up, crime is up, carjacking is spiking. Simple question: Does the President believe the nation’s capital is safe for Americans from across the country to come visit?”
KJP began her answer well, saying that violent crime anywhere in America is “completely unacceptable.” She said, “I mean, look, we see — we hear the reports and see the data as well. And all violent crime anywhere is completely unacceptable, not just here in D.C. We’re going to call that — them all out in communities across the country.”
Continuing, she then drifted into vague generalities about crime and people staying safe, saying, “Everyone in every community in this country wants the same thing. They want their families to be safe. And — and not getting into a — not get into, you know, politics on this. The President is wanting to make sure that communities feel safe.“
But then she turned to attacking Congressional Republicans, still not giving an answer on whether DC is safe or not. She said, “And we’re not seeing that from congressional Republicans. We’re just not. They continue to get in the way. The President has taken action. He puts — he puts that in his budget every day, making sure that we make communities safer. And we’re just not seeing that from Republicans.“
Concluding, she still refrained from saying whether or not the capital city is safe to visit, then ended the press conference without giving a straight answer or letting the reporter ask a follow up question and press her on it. She said, “And so, we’re going to continue to do our job here. We want Congress, co- — Republican congressional members to join us in that. And I’m going to leave it there. I’ll see you all tomorrow. Thanks, everybody.”
Watch her here:
Immediately before being asked about whether DC is safe to visit, KJP had been asked about the three police officers shot while trying to arrest someone. Responding, she said, “So, let me just say a couple of things here. First and foremost, our hearts go out to these officers and their loved ones. The President is praying they make full recoveries, and he is deeply grateful for the sacrifices police officers make to keep our community safe. This shooting is yet another distressing and painful reminder of the toll gun violence is inflicting on families, on our communities, and, obviously, on our a — nation.”
Continuing, she added, “It’s why the President has taken executive actions to help keep guns out of the dangerous hands and DOJ is implementing the new gun trafficking law in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. But it’s not enough. We need — we need the Republicans in Congress to act. We need them to be willing to make — to make sure that communities are safer. That’s what we continue to ask them to do. The President is going to take — continue to take action to fund the police with billions of dollars in his budget that he’s put forth every year. But he needs Republican laws and — lawmakers in Congress to make sure that they put law enforcement first, as well as the President has been doing.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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