Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan appeared Monday on NewsNation to debate President Donald Trump’s police takeover of Washington, D.C. — solely to be booted from the interview after utilizing Trump’s previous to slam the choice as hypocritical.
Trump has pardoned a whole lot of violent insurrectionists who assaulted cops in the course of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, however claimed Monday that considerations about crime had motivated his deployment of Nationwide Guard troops to maintain D.C. “protected.”
The president lied that crime is skyrocketing within the metropolis, regardless of the district’s personal police drive confirming in a year-to-date comparison that each one violent crime is down by 26%.
Hasan joined “On Stability with Leland Vittert” to notice as a lot.
“These are FBI statistics, in addition to metropolis statistics, in addition to each stat on the market,” stated Hasan. “It’s at a 30-year low, violent crime in Washington, D.C., it’s down … 26% this yr. Leland, you understand who bragged that crime is down in D.C. by 26% in April of this yr?”
Vittert begrudgingly guessed: “I’m positive you’re going to say Trump did, however I do not know.”
Hasan confirmed this — the Trump administration, by way of former interim U.S. Legal professional Edward Martin, stated in April that Trump’s “Make D.C. Protected Once more” initiative had resulted in a 25% drop in violent crime.
Vittert interrupted the purpose by boldly arguing “it doesn’t matter” if violent crime is “up or down” in Washington as a result of crime “nonetheless occurs” there.
“Do you know that the Trump administration simply cut $20 million in security funding to D.C.?” Hasan requested. “Which is bizarre as a result of, apparently, crime is uncontrolled. Whenever you say it doesn’t matter whether or not it’s up or down, it does. A few of us consider in reality and info.”
Issues bought actually heated after Hasan characterised the federal takeover of the capital as a “energy seize.”
He requested Vittert point-blank if the conservative host truly believes that Trump mobilized federal troops within the metropolis as a result of he “cares about crime,” and famous: “As a result of I bear in mind Donald Trump on January the sixth, 2021, not giving a crap about crime in D.C.”
“Mehdi! Oh, come on!” Vittert complained. “Noun, verb, January 6. Mehdi? No, Mehdi, come on!”
Hasan tried to complete his level as Vittert sought to drown him out, however managed to remind viewers that Trump supporters attacked cops that day — injuring greater than 140 of them — solely to be pardoned by the president.
“You can’t speak about this, that is utterly various things happening,” Vittert protested.
Hasan went on to probe this hypocrisy additional, nevertheless, and requested the place the Nationwide Guard was on Jan. 6 if Trump cared a lot about crime. Vittert decried the purpose as “completely foolish” earlier than ending the interview.
