Donald Trump sent National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles. As a follow-up, he deployed the National Guard and FBI agents on the streets of Washington, D.C.

The two cities were carefully chosen. What’s a better symbol of diversity, 21st-century culture and illusion than Los Angeles, home of Hollywood? And Trump calls D.C. “a horror show.” On top of its alleged crime culture, it’s the home of the “swamp,” the federal bureaucracy he has promised to drain.

One thing neither city has is the country’s most alarming crime statistics. One thing both cities do have — no coincidence — is a Black mayor.

Trump mentioned Chicago, Baltimore, New York and Oakland as other cities that might require federal intervention in the near future because they “are bad, very bad.” Guess what? They all have Black mayors as well.

Curiously — or really not so curiously — he did not mention Detroit (3rd in the country in violent crime per capita) or St. Louis (9th). They both have white mayors. By the way, Washington ranks 29th and Los Angeles 56th in violent crime per capita for U.S. cities.

There’s irony, too, in the states sending their National Guard troops to help with Trump’s military occupation of Washington, D.C.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana approved sending 135 members of that state’s National Guard to D.C. “Our capital is a reflection of our nation’s respect, beauty, and standards,” he wrote on Elon Musk’s X social media site. “We cannot allow our cities to be overcome by violence and lawlessness.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom could not resist responding, pointing out that the murder rate in Shreveport, the largest city in Speaker Mike Johnson’s Louisiana district, is six times higher than in former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hometown of San Francisco. “What about the carnage, Mr. President, in Shreveport?” Newsom asked.

Gov. Tate Reeves promised to send 200 soldiers from the Mississippi National Guard to D.C. “Crime is out of control there, and it’s clear something must be done to combat it,” he said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mississippi ranked first among states in 2022 murder rates. Ohio is dispatching 150 National Guard members to the District. Maybe they should stay home: Cleveland and Dayton both have violent crime and murder rates higher than D.C.’s. The governor of Tennessee, home to Memphis — which ranks first in violent crime of any American city — is sending 160 troops.

May I suggest that these governors brush up on their Bible studies? As is written in the Gospel of Matthew: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

And what good are the troops doing? A story in The L.A. Times was headlined: “National Guard came to L.A. to fight unrest. Troops ended up fighting boredom.” On the other hand, Trump declared the nation’s capital had suddenly turned “safe.” He went on, “People that haven’t gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C., in two years are going out to dinner, and the restaurants the last two days were busier than they’ve been in a long time.” The data show something different. According to numbers from OpenTable, the day of Trump’s proclamation mobilizing the D.C. National Guard, reservations at D.C. restaurants dropped by 16% compared with the same day in 2024. Last Wednesday, that number was 31%. This Monday, they were still down 22%.

Trump is allegedly focused on Washington because of the increase in crime there. One problem: Statistics show Washington is becoming safer. Three weeks before Trump assumed the presidency, the Department of Justice announced that violent crime in Washington, D.C., had hit a 30-year low. Trump reacted as he usually does — by attacking the accuracy of statistics that don’t support his actions.

If Trump really wanted to do something about crime in D.C., would his administration be slashing the funds for the D.C. area provided by the Homeland Security Grant Program by 44%? Would he have pardoned the 169 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021?

So, what is going on? Trump is focusing on L.A. and D.C. and threatening military action in other cities with Black mayors. He’s supported by red-state governors who have serious crime problems at home. He claims to be concerned about D.C. crime while cutting funds to combat it.

This is a racist show. Videos and photos of armed troops patrolling cities with Black mayors make for fodder on social media and for Fox News commentators. It’s a dog whistle to white supremacists about seizing control of cities from Black mayors. By focusing on the so-called horror show of D.C., he diverts attention from the real horror show of the Epstein scandal.

Statistics be damned. Budgets be damned. What counts for the former host of the mock reality show “The Apprentice” is performance, not factual evidence nor constructive action.

Trump is getting us ready for more troop deployments in cities run by Black mayors. He’s getting us all used to seeing armed American troops patrolling the streets of American cities. He’s getting us accustomed to his use of the military to impose his will.

The Marine Hymn begins with a recitation of the Corps’ famous victories in Mexico (“From the Halls of Montezuma”) and North Africa (“To the Shores of Tripoli”). I doubt victories at the Hollywood Walk of Fame or the Washington Monument are about to be added. But with Trump as commander in chief, and with the support of red-state governors and a GOP Congress, one never knows.

A renaissance man, Keith Raffel has served as the senior counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, started a successful internet software company and written five novels, which you can check out at keithraffel.com. He currently spends the academic year as a resident scholar at Harvard.