Bowser attempts political balance in relationship with Trump : NPR

Juana Summers, host:

Throughout President Trump’s unprecedented intervention in Washington, DC, the business, mayor Muriel Bowser tried to balance Trump’s adoption by appearing. His approach has made some angry in his political base, and while Trump is preparing to give up control of the city’s police service and to turn his attention elsewhere, other Democratic leaders could soon face the same dilemma. Here is Alex Koma de Wamu.

Alex Koma, Byline: Since Trump won a second term, the mayor of DC tried to seek common ground with him where she can.

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Koma: Bowser ordered the destruction of the eminent Plaza Black Lives Matter near the White House, released homeless camps that have made Trump angry and smiled for the cameras with him in the oval office – a fairly different approach from her first mandate, when she made political hay to denigrate the president. Bowser composes it as a pragmatic approach to keep additional interference away.

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Muriel Bowser: It was clear that our autonomy was in a way in the reticle. It is our northern star.

Koma: The federal government exercises disproportionate control over the city, which has fought for years for autonomy and even the State. So, despite some grunts, city politicians largely supported Bowser to present a united front. But it started to change after Bowser did everything possible to rent Trump’s decision to send federal law enforcement agents to the city.

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Bowser: We greatly appreciate the rise of officers who improve what MPD was able to do in this city.

Koma: Tommy Wells, former member of the DC council who worked later for the administration of Bowser, sympathizes with his precarious position. But he thinks that such compliance with Trump’s directives may give him a coverage to repeat these actions elsewhere.

Tommy Wells: You must express themselves. Many of us have moved to Washington because we believe in our government, we believed in higher objectives and we believe in the public service. You can’t just put it all on a shelf now. It is not who we are as a city.

Koma: This is an act of balance that has challenged democrats at all levels across the country. Moderate personalities such as the head of the Senate minority, Chuck Schumer, put pressure on Trump to open the compromise to keep the government open, but that indignant a large part of the democratic base. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for the mayor of New York, is perhaps the best example of a candidate who channeled part of the party’s frustration. The leaders of the left wing of the party, such as Senator Bernie Sanders, put pressure for this kind of direct confrontation.

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Bernie Sanders: And what Zohran’s campaign is an understanding that today we live in an unprecedented moment in the modern history of our country, and we must retaliate in an unprecedented way.

Koma: Many DC activists are looking for a similar candidate. Scott Goldstein, a defender of progressive teachers, believes that Bowser’s approach put him off with the voters before the town hall race next year.

Scott Goldstein: There is a wide path for someone to capture the incredible feeling of DC inhabitants at the moment that we need a different approach to leadership.

Koma: But we still don’t know who, if someone, could challenge Bowser with a more energetic response to the Trump administration if she is looking for a fourth term. If she wins, she linked Marion Barry to the oldest mayor in the history of the city. The member of the DC council, Robert White, ran against Bowser four years ago, and he marked an interest in starting again. He has also sharpened his criticism of Bowser in recent weeks.

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Robert White: We must not, as a Columbia district, give people the impression that it is a good thing, that we agree with that, that it helps the city. This does not make any of these things.

Koma: However, White has still not officially announced a campaign, and he faced complaints in his first offer that he failed to make a fairly clear contrast with Bowser. This has fueled calls for certain progressive voices for a more energetic candidate to start, and the member of the Janeese Lewis George council could adapt to the bill. Since he won a position with the support of Democratic Socialists five years ago, she has been one of the main antagonists of the mayor, including on his approach to Trump.

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Janeese Lewis George: We have never seen in history where to comply in advance or capitulating worked. The only answer must be rejected and resist. And in doing so, we gain allies across this country in this fight.

Koma: While the emergency control of the city’s police service ends this evening, the president could ocular interventions in other cities, presenting similar tests for other Democratic leaders.

For NPR News, I am Alex Koma in Washington, DC

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