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Donald Trump declared the left-wing cable network MSNBC to be worse than the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Bragging to reporters about his crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., the president cited a video of National Guard troops infiltrating a street gang, before joking it could have actually been employees for his least favorite news channel.
‘They showed one scene where a bunch of Tren de Aragua guys or whatever, maybe MS-13, maybe MSDNC, okay? Because to me they’re worse,’ Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, eliciting laughter from the room. ‘I think they’re worse – MSNBC may be as worse than (sic) Tren de Aragua,’ the president said. ‘Real scum, real scum – real dishonest people.’
Trump added during his Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he wasn’t a dictator just because he knows ‘how to stop crime’ in the nation’s capital. The last two weeks have established a new normal where rifle-wielding members of the National Guard and federal agents with the FBI , DEA, ATF and DHS are seen patrolling the District’s streets. More than 2,000 armed members of the National Guard are currently on duty in D.C.
Flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and surrounded by his other Cabinet secretaries, Trump spoke on a range of topics at his meeting on Tuesday, including his initiative to end violent crime in D.C. Since the federal takeover began on August 7, 2025, the Justice Department claims there have been more than 1,000 arrests, including a significant number of immigration-related detainments.
At least 300 people were taken into custody for lack of legal immigration status and 111 illegal firearms were seized in the first few weeks of the operation. Trump even paused the meeting to allow a member of the press to share her testimonial on how she was ‘savagely mugged’ and held at gunpoint.
Iris Tao, a reporter with NTD News, explained how she was pistol whipped two years ago when she refused to hand over her phone, wallet and laptop to a man in a ski mask wielding a firearm. ‘That has deeply traumatized myself and my family,’ she divulged.
‘It’s amazing you weren’t shot,’ Trump replied. ‘I’m very blessed and that’s why having this opportunity to stand here and share my story today… Mr. President, thank you for now making D.C. safer for us, for our families.’
Trump then said that there are ‘other reporters and journalists and good people’ who have been ‘attacked violently’ in D.C. in an effort to exhibit how everyone is impacted by the crime. ‘I bet you see a big difference on the street right now,’ the president touted.
Trump also called for the death penalty for anyone who commits murder in the nation’s capital. ‘It’s a very strong preventative,’ Trump said. ‘I don’t know if we’re ready for it … but we have no choice.’ The last execution in Washington D.C. was in 1957 when a jury mandated the death penalty for a man who killed an off-duty policy officer.
Trump sees his crime crackdown as successful and has floated bringing in forces to respond to violent crime in other cities, including Baltimore and Chicago. He said that Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker should be calling him up to ‘ask for troops’ but it’s unclear when he’ll choose to deploy the National Guard there.
