MSNBC host Joe Scarborough claimed that a Washington, D.C., journalist who publicly bashed President Donald Trump's federal takeover had privately expressed concerns over crime within the city during Tuesday's (August 12) Morning Joe live newscast.

“This is interesting,” Scarborough said (h/t FOX News). “I actually heard from a reporter when this happened, going, ‘Well, you know, if he doesn’t overreach, this could actually be a good thing for quality of life,’ etc, because in DC right now, I had this happen to my family and I had that, and they go down the list. And then I saw him tweet something completely different.”

Scarborough, who has lived in D.C. for more than three decades, claimed that the crime rate was lower than it had been in the last two or three years, however, added that the city was "not as safe as the nation's capital should be."

Trump announced his decision invoke to the D.C. home Rule Act to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control and deploy members of the National Guard to the city on Monday (August 11). The president claimed that Washington, D.C., had been “overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people" while announcing his "Liberation Day" decision.

Trump claimed that his administration was "not going to let it happen anymore" and vowed to remove homeless encampments from all public places, which includes parks and underpasses. Recent DC Metropolitan Police Department data showed that Washington D.C. has experienced a 26% drop in violent crime compared to 2025, with overall crime down 7% in the last year, according to the New York Post. Trump, however, downplayed the numbers as "phony" and claimed Attorney General Pam Bondi was "looking into that."

Bill Handel