Lawlessness and Disorder

The epicenter of corruption in D.C. has a mailing address: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

We are living inside a constitutional crisis, shrink-wrapped in a crime spree, gift-wrapped in tacky gold leaf, and narrated by a man whose brain sounds like a dial-up modem trying to connect to AOL, but with less bandwidth and more malware. And now—because reality is apparently determined to out-parody itself—Donald Trump has unleashed the National Guard, ICE, DHS, and MPD onto the streets of Washington, D.C., rolling through downtown in unmarked cars, faces hidden, badges missing, yanking people out of vehicles and disappearing them into the night like some dime-store dictator’s fantasy.

Let’s be clear: this is the same National Guard he refused to deploy on January 6, when a violent mob he personally summoned and incited was literally hunting members of Congress through the Capitol. That day, he let the blood dry on the marble before he so much as lifted a finger. Today? He floods the streets with soldiers and secret police, all for a city that, by his own words back in May, has seen violent crime drop by 25%. But that was last month. Now, because the script demands a new villain, he’s suddenly claiming the mayor “fudged” the numbers, that D.C. is actually at an “all-time high” for crime—a lie so lazy, it barely qualifies as propaganda. The real numbers? Violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low, and the city doesn’t even crack the top ten most dangerous in the country. But when has reality ever gotten in the way of a man whose only relationship with facts is a one-night stand followed by ghosting?

But we all know this isn’t about crime. This is about control. This is the fascist playbook, page one: invent a crisis, demonize your enemies, send in the troops, and tell the public you’re the only thing standing between them and chaos. Manufacture fear, then sell yourself as the cure. It’s the oldest trick in the autocrat’s handbook—and Trump is running it like a dinner theater production of “Julius Caesar” performed entirely by the cast of “Duck Dynasty.”

Let’s talk about “law and order” shall we? What Trump never mentions is that he personally gutted nearly a billion dollars in grants for violence prevention and police training, including $150 million specifically for stopping gun violence in cities like D.C. You don’t “solve” crime by sending in the National Guard; you solve it by investing in communities and policing with accountability. But that doesn’t fit the cosplay dictator aesthetic he’s going for. He doesn’t want solutions—he wants spectacle.

Clearly, there’s no real “emergency” in D.C., so why send in the Guard? To distract from the Epstein files? To sweep unhoused people out of sight before the RNC’s propaganda parade? To stage-manage his image as the “savior” of a city he’s actively bleeding dry? This is a president who campaigned on “law and order” but governs as the Don Corleone of chaos and corruption. This isn’t public safety—it’s a federally funded piece of authoritarian street theater, complete with secret police and a soundtrack of Fox News panic.

And the punchline? The biggest criminal in Washington is Donald J. Trump. A 34-times convicted felon. A man found liable for sexual abuse and business fraud. As George Conway put it, this isn’t conservatism—it’s straight-up gangsterism. We don’t have Reagan anymore; we have Tony Soprano in the Oval Office, minus the charm, the strategy, and the self-awareness. He’s looting the country in broad daylight, daring us to blink. Every grotesque indulgence—like the $400 million plane “gifted” by Qatar that will cost taxpayers over a billion to operate—isn’t just a perk, it’s a stage prop in his one-man authoritarian variety show. Every sleazy dinner—like the $148 million meme coin gala—is a slow-motion middle finger to democracy. Every sketchy deal—like a Trump envoy’s son partnering with Don Jr. and Eric on a $1.5 billion crypto play—is another shovel of dirt on the grave of American governance.

And yet here we are, living in such inside out, upside down absurdity that I found myself sincerely Googling, “Will Big Balls ACTUALLY get the Medal of Freedom?”

The fact that this is even remotely plausible tells you everything you need to know about how far we’ve fallen.

This administration has dissolved the line between government and farce so thoroughly that satire is now just tomorrow’s headline. Trump has turned D.C. into a set piece for his fear-porn pageantry, using the very forces he refused to send on January 6 to cosplay “tough on crime.” And now, faceless, nameless, badge-less ICE agents are snatching people off the streets like a knockoff Putin production.

And let’s not forget his latest hand-picked U.S. Attorney for D.C.—Jeanine “Judge Juice Box” Pirro. Because when you want to restore faith in the justice system, who better than a Fox News retiree whose legal expertise peaked with yelling at a teleprompter? That’s not law enforcement; that’s dinner theater with subpoena power and a two-martini minimum.

Meanwhile, every institution that’s supposed to be a guardrail is bending the knee. Businesses are cashing in on Trump brand access. Universities are rewriting curricula to appease his retribution. Media outlets cover the spectacle without covering the crime. The political class whispers “concern” while holding out their hands for favors. The checks aren’t balancing; they’re bouncing.

This is the fascist playbook, and he’s reading it out loud, in crayon, while the rest of the country pretends it’s a coloring book.

We are the only bulwark left. If we want to end this nightmare, WE have to end it. We have to stand up to the Republican Party’s cheating and voter suppression. We have to vote like our democracy depends on it—because it does.

Because the real crime scene isn’t in D.C.’s neighborhoods—it’s in the Oval Office, where the evidence is hiding in plain sight. This isn’t about “law and order.” It’s about power, fear, and a man willing to torch democracy to protect himself. The tanks in the streets aren’t defending us from chaos—they’re proof that the chaos is already calling the shots. If we want to end this, we can’t look away and we can’t wait for someone else to step up. The only thing standing between America and open authoritarianism is us—and time is running out.