White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back Thursday on Newsmax on the Rev. Al Sharpton's narrative that President Donald Trump is enacting a "segregated intervention" in crime-ridden cities across the country, calling Sharpton's comments "utterly disgraceful."
In an interview with MSNBC, Sharpton suggested that Trump's proposed federal takeover of big cities nationwide had more to do with the skin color of their mayors instead of their soaring crime statistics.
"The president wants to make all of our cities safe, and the reason for this federal takeover of Washington, D.C., is because this is where the crime is happening," Leavitt told "Wake Up America." "There is violent crime that is taking the lives of far too many Black Americans, I will add, and Americans of all races, religions, creeds. The president wants to protect them and to make our streets safer and more beautiful."
"On July 5, you had a beautiful young girl, 3 years old, who was shot and killed in her car, coming back from a Fourth of July celebration with her family," she said. "That life is worth what the president is doing. He wants to protect law-abiding Americans and families regardless of race, and I think it's despicable that you hear comments like that trying to inject race in this conversation."
It isn't just the White House saying that the nation's capital isn't safe, Leavitt said, pointing to a 65% majority of city residents who say "crime is a very serious problem." As per the executive order Trump signed in May to make "D.C. safe and beautiful again," Leavitt said the multi-agency task force has "already seen enormous success" in less than the week that it's been on the city's streets "removing criminals."
"Last night, there were 45 criminal arrests," she said. "Those arrests include charges for assault, both first and second degree, drug offenses. We've removed illegal narcotics off the streets. And then, in addition to those 45 criminal arrests, there were also 29 illegal aliens who were removed from the streets of Washington, D.C., last night, many of whom had final orders of removal but were just living here freely, because D.C. has, unfortunately, for far too long been a sanctuary city."
"Not anymore. The District of Columbia will only be a sanctuary for law-abiding citizens and for tourists and visitors from around the world," she added.
"This is about law and order and safety," Leavitt said. "That's what President Trump cares about. And while Democrats want to coddle criminals and illegal aliens, the president is going to put them behind bars no matter what color they are, no matter where they come from. If you break the law in D.C., or anywhere in this country, you need to be held accountable."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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