U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters ahed of boarding Marine One to depart for New Jersey, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 1, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump has bet heavily on the idea that the public will support his federal takeover of Washington, D.C. if he sells it as an attempt to restore order and crack down on crime — but a new poll released by Quinnipiac on Tuesday suggests the whole endeavor is blowing up in his face.
From the outset, Trump has characterized D.C., and large cities overwhelmingly run by Democrats in general, as disaster zones full of violence and anarchy, and he followed up with an order instructing D.C. to eliminate its cashless bail system, which has been frequently derided by right-wing politicians even though such programs have a long track record of working.
The new poll, however, finds Trump not just dipping to a 37 percent approval rating in general, but underwater on crime. Furthermore, overwhelming majorities of voters oppose his takeover of D.C.
"Striking: New Q poll finds 56% of voters nationally oppose Trump's sending of National Guard into DC. Only 41% support it," wrote Greg Sargent of The New Republic. "Indys oppose it by 61-34. His overall approval on crime is cratering at 42-54. That sound you hear is a lot of dimwitted pundit narratives imploding."
As all of this is happening, Trump is doubling down with his strategy.
On Tuesday, the president announced he would be seizing control of Union Station, the central rail terminal for Washington, D.C. and one of the busiest transportation facilities in the United States — again citing crime and homelessness as the rationale for doing so.