Trump's Trials - Trump's D.C. 'crisis' enters 2nd week with more soldiers — and no exit strategy

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

As the U.S. capital braces for a second week with soldiers and masked federal agents conducting "roving patrols" on the city streets, President Trump says he knows some Americans fear he's crossed a dangerous line.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's Terms from NPR. I'm Scott Tethra. We're going to be doing all sorts of things. Nobody ever thought was even possible. President Trump has brought back string to the White House. We can't just ignore the president's desires. This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode of Trump's terms, we bring you NPR's latest coverage of the 47th president.

With a focus on actions and policies he is pursuing on his own terms and in the process, taking the presidency into uncharted territory. Today's story starts right after this. I'm A. Martinez. And I'm Leila Fauden. Washington, D.C. is entering its second full week with troops and federal agents on the streets with more National Guard troops now on their way to the nation's capital. There's growing tension over President Trump's decision to militarize policing in the nation's capital with no clear exit strategy. Local civic leaders are scrambling to avoid major clashes.

NPR's Brian Mann has been on the streets through the weekend and joins us now in Studio 31. Hey, Brian. Good morning, Leila. Good morning. Okay, so we both know there's already this big presence of troops and federal agents on the streets here. What do we know about these new troops and why Trump has asked for them? Yeah, what we know is that three Republican governors in Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia have agreed to send hundreds of additional soldiers. And there's another escalation, Leila, the National Guard confirms some of these troops conducting what they call roving patrols on D.C. streets may now be armed. That's a big change from last week. And Trump's team really hasn't offered a clear rationale for needing more soldiers.

Right now, this city is calm. The streets are busy with tourists. A lot of residents say they're angry. This seems to keep escalating. I spoke about it with Megan Marie during one of the protests over the weekend outside the White House. Trump is using this, one, to distract from the Epstein files and two, to basically do a fascist takeover of D.C. In a statement, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers characterized this very differently describing this growing military. deployment as a common sense way to stop crime. President Trump is delivering on his campaign promise, she said. You know, I'm thinking about Los Angeles. Trump deployed National Guard and active duty Marines there back in June following immigration protests. And those deployments mostly

ended last month, though they're still unease in L.A. How is what's happening here in D.C. different? I think part of it's the symbolism. You know, this is the nation's capital. Trump put Humvees and soldiers on the streets based also on claims about rampant crime that just aren't factual. I haven't found a single expert, Lela, who thinks the crime that does occur here amounts to the kind of emergency that warrants this sort of crackdown. People are also concerned that Trump keeps blurring the line between criminals and people who are really vulnerable, the homeless, poor people, mentally ill, those in severe addiction. Armed troops are a really blunt instrument for dealing with those kinds of social problems. And finally, as you mentioned, there's no exit

strategy here. We're a week into this. We haven't heard how or when or why Trump might declare victory and end this emergency. And what are local leaders saying? Yeah, I'm hearing real fear about this situation. There's been relative calm so far, but it could spin out of control. This is playing out in the heat of summer, growing numbers of troops and agents on the streets that they don't know well. There's confusion about command and control of police. There are these growing protests. And on top of that, Lela, the public school year's about to begin. That means more kids out on the streets. People think this could turn into something like Ferguson, Missouri in 2014 or Minneapolis in 2020. I spoke with Reverend Ronald Bell Jr. who leads one of D.C.'s predominantly black churches, he said community leaders

are working to maintain calm. I think we have learned the lessons from the past. We who are on the ground. I think we are well equipped to handle this moment. I also got a letter on social media from Mayor Muriel Bowser over the weekend. She acknowledged people are feeling waves of anxiety in the community. Bowser also urged calm. She said, I know if we keep sticking together, we will make it to the other side of this. NPR's Brian Mann with me in studio in Washington, D.C. Thank you, Brian. Thank you. Before we wrap up, a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's

biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thank you for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.