George Conway, the prominent conservative attorney and “Never Trump” Republican turned independent, sounded a dire warning hours before President Donald Trump overnight threatened a “complete and total” occupation of Washington, D.C.

The President has already executed a takeover of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, and has deployed thousands of National Guard troops and FBI, ATF, DEA, DHS, and ICE agents to patrol the streets of the nation’s capital, despite massive opposition from the city’s residents. Trump declared a “crime emergency” on August 11, when, according to experts, there was none.

In his overnight statement, Trump threatened D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, declaring she “must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!”

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Speaking to MeidasTouch News in video published on Thursday (excerpt below), Conway warned that President Trump might never leave the White House if he has complete control of the city’s police force and National Guard.

“If Donald Trump gets control of policing in the capital to the extent that he seems to desire, which is he wants complete control, because that’s just the way he is, he wants complete control of anything he deems important to him,” Conway began.

“Think about the consequences of that, because what would have happened if he had had that kind of control on January 6, when he didn’t call out the National Guard to defend the Capitol?” Conway posited. “What if he actually did have control of the Metropolitan Police and the National Guard in a way in the way that he wants?”

When asked, “What would have happened on January 20th?” Conway replied that Trump “would have remained in office because there would not have been the election of Joe Biden on January 6th, and he would have declared an emergency.”

“And, lo and behold, what do you do when you have an emergency? You call in the National Guard,” Conway continued. “He would have never left.

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“Some people were saying that what they’re doing in D.C. is going to be a model for other cities. But I think they’re just cutting straight to the chase, because if you want to have a coup against the constitutional order, you want to control the capital city, and if he has control of the policing in the city of Washington, you know, there’s no —how do you stop him?”

“Who’s gonna tell him to leave the White House?”

Others appear to have arrived at the same conclusion.

Journalist Wajahat Ali separately on Friday afternoon warned: “Donald Trump isn’t going to leave willingly or peacefully. Republicans are gearing up for martial law. You all aren’t paying attention.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

“If you want to have a coup against the constitutional order, you want to control the capital city. And if he has control of the policing in the city of Washington…Who’s gonna tell him to leave the White House?”@gtconway3d joins JVL: pic.twitter.com/3t2sGc6Fav

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) August 22, 2025

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Image via Reuters 

Denying any foreknowledge of Friday morning’s FBI raid on the home of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton, President Donald Trump said he has every right to not only be informed, but to make actionable decisions regarding investigative actions.

FBI agents raided Bolton’s Maryland residence on Friday, reportedly as part of a “national security investigation in search of classified records,” NBC News reported, citing an unnamed source.

Numerous experts, however, see the raid as retribution for Bolton’s outspoken opposition to Trump.

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“Trump is weaponizing DOJ & using it as an instrument for his vengeance & retribution,” wrote U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Friday morning. 

On Friday morning, Trump told reporters, “I don’t want — I tell Pam, and I tell the group, I don’t want to know,” he said, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi. “You have to do what you have to do.”

“I don’t want to know about it. It’s not necessary,” Trump continued.

“I could know about it,” he claimed. “I could be the one starting it. I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer — but I feel that it’s better this way.”

Trump’s claim — that he is the chief law enforcement officer — is one that he has made before. The Attorney General is considered to be the chief law enforcement officer.

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Previous administrations since Nixon have installed a high wall separating the Department of Justice from the White House.

Brett Bruen, a former Obama White House official, responded to Trump’s claim, writing, “Actually, no… We still live in a democracy where presidents don’t direct investigations or politically-motivated prosecutions.”

Professor Juliette Kayyem, a CNN national security analyst, opined, “Translation: he directed it.”

The New Republic’s Greg Sargent responded to Trump’s remarks, writing: “Pure mobspeak. They know exactly what he wants them to do.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Trump on FBI raiding Bolton’s house: “I could know about it. I could be the one starting it. I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer.” pic.twitter.com/1HjkPU9AJc

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2025

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Image via Reuters

Despite polls showing his takeover of the D.C. Metropolitan Police and deployment of federal forces are deeply unpopular, President Donald Trump is now threatening to escalate, vowing a “complete and total” occupation of the District of Columbia.

In addition to taking over the Metropolitan Police, Trump has deployed thousands of National Guard troops, ICE, DEA, FBI, and DHS agents to patrol the city’s streets, often in areas with little to no crime.

Restaurant bookings dropped by double digits, and experts warn the current takeover is already hurting local businesses, CNN reported.

“Despite Trump’s claim earlier this week that DC restaurants have been ‘busier than they’ve been in a long time,’ reservations tracked by OpenTable have been down recently. On August 11, when Trump announced the takeover, seated diners dropped 16% compared to a year ago. Two days later, when troops mobilized around the city, seated diners fell 31% compared to a year ago.”

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“If there’s a perception that DC is turning into a police state, then there’s going to be some hesitancy to go out and explore the city,” Adam Kamins, director of regional economics at Moody’s, told CNN. “That would be true of visitors from overseas but also of local residents who just want to steer clear of all of this.”

As Restaurant Week kicked off this week, restaurant visits were down 22 percent.

While restaurants are a good barometer, the downturn is more widespread.

“In the week starting August 11, foot traffic was down about 81% of retail-store categories in Washington compared to data from a year ago, according to pass_by, with car dealerships, department stores, convenience stores and beauty-supply shops seeing some of the steepest drops.”

President Donald Trump promoted a very different perception in the early hours of Friday morning.

“Washington, D.C. is SAFE AGAIN!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. “The crowds are coming back, the spirit is high, and our D.C. National Guard and Police are doing a fantastic job. They are out in force, and are NOT PLAYING GAMES!!!”

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A Washington Post poll released Wednesday found nearly eight out of ten (79%) D.C. residents oppose Trump’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department, and the presence of the National Guard and federal agents patrolling their city’s streets. About the same number, 78%, said they felt very safe in their neighborhoods.

The President made other demonstrably false claims as well: “As bad as it sounds to say, there were no murders this week for the first time in memory.”

According to Fox News, the last time there were no murders in D.C. was in March.

Trump then made his threat: “Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City! Washington D.C. will soon be great again!!!”

The President isn’t the only Trump focused on the takeover.

Donald Trump Jr. on Friday morning told Newsmax, “Maybe we should roll out the tour to Portland, Seattle, you know, the other what we call, you know, c— hole cities of the country.”

He also claimed that Democratic residents of D.C. are very happy about the Trump takeover, a claim not supported by polling.

Watch the video below or at this link.

Donald Trump Jr on Trump’s DC takeover: “Maybe we should roll out the tour to Portland, Seattle, the other what we’d call craphole cities of the country.” pic.twitter.com/4VLPBA14TP

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2025

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