An MSNBC contributor had a strong reaction on Monday to President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement that his administration would take over the Washington, D.C. police department, and claimed that the president was trying to distract from the Epstein story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m trying to hold my temper\u2026 you have to understand this within the context of Donald Trump\u2019s racial politics and within the context of his effort to get Epstein off the front pages,” MSNBC commentator Eddie Glaude said.<\/p>\n
Trump announced that he was sending 800 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and putting the district\u2019s police department under federal control<\/a> on Monday. He also announced federal legislation to end the practice of no-cash bail, which allows judges to send suspects home from jail without them paying bail.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Metropolitan Police Department\u2019s 3,400 officers will be under the command of DEA administrator Terry Cole. The National Guard troops<\/a> will be commanded by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced. Trump vowed to remove homeless encampments popping up around the city and have the U.S. Park Police remove graffiti in the nation\u2019s capital.\u00a0<\/p>\n TRUMP’S PLAN TO DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD IN DC SPARKS BACKLASH FROM RESIDENTS\u2014BUT SOME WELCOME IT<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “He really doesn’t really care about what’s actually happening in D.C. On a certain level because he’s not trying to get at the underlying root causes,” Glaude continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n The president is allowed to federalize local D.C. police for up to 30 days in the event of an emergency, according to the Home Rule Act which granted the nation\u2019s capital self-governing rights in 1973. Congress can lengthen the president\u2019s emergency powers through a joint resolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Watch them, the police are standing, and they’re told not to do anything under any search or this, and you can see they want to get at it. And they’re standing there and people are spitting in their face, and they are not allowed to do anything, but now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want,” Trump said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump has long railed against what he sees as out-of-control crime in the nation\u2019s capital. Metropolitan Police Department data shows that while the homicide rate is falling, the last five years saw the greatest number of murders since 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n