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According to President Donald Trump, Washington, D.C., is a hellscape. It’s ridden with crime driven by “ bloodthirsty criminals ” and “roving mobs of wild youth,” so the White House is intervening. The president, superseding the D.C. mayor and local law enforcement, has decided to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to our nation’s capital. There’s just one glaring problem with this narrative: Violent crime in D.C. has been declining and is on track to hit a 30-year low .

On Tuesday during a White House press briefing, Trump, flanked by members of his Cabinet, announced that 800 National Guard troops would be deployed to D.C. to restore “law, order, an

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