On Thursday's The Weeknight, MSNBC co-host Michael Steele voiced agreement with the wild theory of Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (D-PA) that President Donald Trump plans to take over other cities with federal agents to facilitate canceling future elections.
Not mentioned were the numbers covered the same day by Fox that crime in D.C. had plummeted substantially since the federal takeover of the police department a week earlier, with no murders since August 13.
Co-host Alicia Menendez introduced the segment by boasting that the show would not show images of President Trump meeting with law enforcement in D.C. from earlier in the day. That's not news:
Today Donald Trump turned his unnecessary militarization of the D.C. streets into a photo op. Now, we are not going to give him the satisfaction of showing you that publicity stunt, but, surrounded by law enforcement, Trump gave a rambling, campaign-style speech about ballrooms, grass quality, and the ability of his DHS secretary to ride a horse?
After the Pennsylvania Congresswoman was brought on as a guest, contributor Molly Jong-Fast asked what congressional Democrats could do to "protect" other cities from being taken over by President Trump, leading the Democrat to rant that the President "doesn't give a damn about crime," and then promote the conspiracy theory that the President plans to use similar crackdowns in other cities to help justify cancelling elections:
This is not a President who's serious about crime. He's serous about a show, and my fear is what you just recommended -- you just suggested -- that he will do this in city after city. I had a town hall last night at a senior retirement community -- terrific group with more than 100 seniors -- and this was one of the questions they asked: "Is it possible that he is going to do this in city after city in order to then say, 'You know what, the country is too dangerous -- I'm in power here, and we don't have to have elections?'"
Steele jumped in to agree her wackiness:
Congresswoman, I think that's exactly the case. I'll put a finer point on what you just said as a native Washingtonian, and I think I speak for a lot of Washingtonians tonight who watched this BS spectacle, this performative effort by the President of the United States. As you note, this is not about crime -- this is about the militarization of our police. This is about the victimization of the citizens who live in the District of Columbia -- and it's also about the deployment of that military in such a way to prove Donald Trump has the power to do whatever the hell he wants to do, and that nobody will stop him.
Transcript follows:
MSNBC's The Weeknight
August 21, 2025
7:24 p.m. Eastern
ALICIA MENENDEZ: Today Donald Trump turned his unnecessary militarization of the D.C. streets into a photo op. Now, we are not going to give him the satisfaction of showing you that publicity stunt, but, surrounded by law enforcement, Trump gave a rambling, campaign-style speech about ballrooms, grass quality, and the ability of his DHS secretary to ride a horse?
(...)
MOLLY JONG-FAST, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: So I'm wondering if you could talk about -- we're seeing this -- it seems like a kind of rollout for Trump being able to do this in other cities. You guys don't have the majority, but you do have a very, you know, but it's a very small, you know, there's just a very small difference between the majority and the minority in this House right now. What can you do to protect other cities? D.C. is more vulnerable because of -- it's not -- it's not a state, it doesn't have many of the same protections -- but is there anything you can do to protect some of these other cities?
CONGRESSWOMAN MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Well, actually, what we can do is highlight what the President is doing. I wish, Molly, that the President was actually serious about curbing crime in any city. I am in the region of Philadelphia -- my beloved city. We struggle with crime. We struggle with gun violence. This President doesn't give a damn about crime. He's pulling a stunt tonight when he rides around with the National Guard. And it is extremely frightening that he will do this in other cities.
My team is down in D.C. while I'm back in the District, and they said where the National Guard is, is so odd and inept, they're not able to do law enforcement. They're at Union Station -- they're on the Mall. This is a show for the President. This is not serious about mothers who care about crime, mothers who care about gun violence.
And think of the contrast. At the very same time Jeanine Pierre (sic) -- however you say her name -- said, "We will not be putting federal accusations or charges" against folks in D.C. who walk around with long guns -- who walk around with rifles. This is not a President who's serious about crime. He's serous about a show, and my fear is what you just recommended -- you just suggested -- that he will do this in city after city. I had a town hall last night at a senior retirement community -- terrific group with more than 100 seniors -- and this was one of the questions they asked: "Is it possible that he is going to do this in city after city in order to then say, 'You know what, the country is too dangerous -- I'm in power here, and we don't have to have elections?'"
MICHAEL STEELE: Congresswoman, I think that's exactly the case. I'll put a finer point on what you just said as a native Washingtonian, and I think I speak for a lot of Washingtonians tonight who watched this BS spectacle, this performative effort by the President of the United States. As you note, this is not about crime -- this is about the militarization of our police -- this is about the victimization of the citizens who live in the District of Columbia -- and it's also about the deployment of the military in such a way to prove Donald Trump has the power to do whatever the hell he wants to do, and that nobody will stop him.
And I think that it's incumbent upon the members of Congress and the Senate to understand exactly to the point that you made about how this expands and grows and where this goes next. Understand, okay, y'all can, you know, mess around with D.C. -- it's a federal city. Constitution gives you the right to do whatever the hell you want to it. But that's not the case in state after state. New York, California, Illinois, Florida, wherever -- you don't get that same play. How do -- how do members assert that principle -- that constitutional idea that what the President is doing is wrong? "Okay, we see what's happening in D.C., but the idea that you're now going to translate this to other cities, not so fast."
