Former Vice President Mike Pence defends Trump's crime crackdown in DC

Former Vice President Mike Pence said he supported President Donald Trump's action to crack down on crime in Washington, D.C., when asked by CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday.

During an appearance on "State of the Union," Pence was asked what he thought about Trump sending hundreds of National Guard troops to the nation's capital, after Trump faced criticism for how he responded to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

"Here in Washington, D.C., President Trump has deployed the National Guard and other federal troops, ostensibly in response to emergency of lawlessness and high crime in D.C.," Tapper began in his question to Pence.

"I am curious what goes through your mind when you see the president aggressively pushing out the National Guard when he didn't do so on January 6th, 2021, as the Capitol was under attack, a mob was trying to lynch you and your family was in danger?" Tapper asked.

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Pence called January 6 "a tragic day," before praising Trump's efforts to combat crime in the city. 

He defended the president temporarily taking control of D.C.'s police force as an "important" step to tackle the city's high homicide rate.

"Well, January 6th was a tragic day. But I know we did our duty that day, and I wish the president would have done more. But I welcome his decision to deploy the National Guard and essentially federalize the D.C. police department," Pence said. "I know that it's all now working in a very cooperative way."

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"Jake, if the District of Columbia was actually a state, it would have the highest homicide rate in the country," he added. "And this is where our national government has to operate, where tens of thousands of people, you included, work every day. I think it's important what the president is doing. I fully support it. And I think the American people welcome the president taking decisive action to ensure the streets of our nation's capital are safe and also continue to provide resources across the country to make all of our cities and towns and communities safe."

Top Democrats across the country have pushed back on Trump's actions, claiming that violent crime is at a 30-year-low, a statistic challenged by some law enforcement experts.

"Violent crime in Washington, D.C., is at a thirty-year low," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said on Monday. "Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order. Get lost." 

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During a press conference on Monday, President Trump claimed the homicide rate in D.C. is higher than that in notoriously violent cities in nations across the world.

"The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City, some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth, much higher," Trump said Monday. 

"This is much higher. The number of car thefts has doubled over the past five years, and the number of carjackings has more than tripled. Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate, probably ever. They say 25 years, but they don't know what that means because it just goes back 25 years can't be worse," he added. 

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