Proof We Can Have Nice Things — Hegseth Celebrates Heroes of the National Guard As Crime Plummets in DC

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The liberal stance is that we’re powerless to stop certain things. Mass illegal immigration. Crime. The decay of our cities. The decline of formerly wonderful states like California. It’s part of the natural order, they say, and you just have to accept it.

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But the Trump administration keeps proving over and over that it’s all a lie: we can have nice things. It’s a matter of willpower, determination, and sane policy.

You don’t have to look further than the nation’s capital for proof: making an actual effort to enforce the law has caused the crime rate to plummet, and we have the National Guard to thank. War Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed our soldiers at the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force ceremony in Washington’s Meridian Hill Park Thursday:

.@StephenM: "Each and every one of you has been a part of the SINGLE MOST SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY.

In twelve months, the crime rate in D.C. has gone from the highest in the WORLD—TO THE LOWEST RECORDED IN THE HISTORY OF OUR NATION'S CAPITAL."

In August 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14333, “Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia,” directing the National Guard to patrol the D.C. streets and crack down on the rampant crime in The Swamp. The results have been dramatic, while in Chicago, where Mayor Brandon Johnson and IL Mayor JB Pritzker refuse Trump’s help, it remains a shooting gallery.

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As we approach our 250th birthday, Hegseth hailed the Guard — and its fallen heroes — for bringing sanity back to D.C. and helping make our capital a place we can be proud of instead of a laughingstock:


MORE: The Nation's Capital Posts Some Astonishing Crime Numbers, Much to the Left's Chagrin

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Unfortunately, the effort has not been without its costs, as we saw with the tragic November 2025 shooting of Guardsmen Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and Sgt. Andrew Wolfe by an Afghan national terrorist. The 24-year-old Wolfe suffered critical injuries but survived, while the 20-year old Beckstrom tragically succumbed.

Hegseth honored their sacrifices:

Of course, there were protesters at the event, but many leftists seem to have nothing better to do with their lives than chant and hold signs and annoy people who try to make the country better. “It's the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude — of people who are so blinded by ideology they can't see law and order and common sense in front of them,” Hegseth said.

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But Trump and his team have repeatedly shown that, unlike former President Joe Biden, who basically held up his hands and said, “nothing I can do about the decline of America,” we can do better, and we can continue to make this country exceptional.

The dramatic evolution of Washington, D.C. is proof.

Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.

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