Trump wants death penalty for DC murderers after flooding capital with National Guard: 'We've no choice'

WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday that if you kill someone in Washington, DC, you might just pay with your life.

During a marathon Cabinet meeting at the White House, the president doubled down on his federal takeover of the DC police force and brushed off critics.

Trump said he wasn't a dictator simply because he knows "how to stop crime." He then remarked, “It’s a very strong preventative. I don’t know if we’re ready for it … but we have no choice.”

The last time DC executed anyone was back in 1957, when a man was put to death for killing an off-duty police officer. Even when the city’s murder rate was sky-high in 1992, residents rejected the death penalty, with about 67 percent voting against bringing it back in a referendum ordered by Congress after a Senate aide was killed.

Trump's crime crackdown goes beyond DC

Despite the local resistance, Trump says his crime blitz is working and he’s itching to expand it.

The president name-dropped Baltimore and Chicago as possible next stops, suggesting Democratic governors should swallow their pride and call him in for help.

He even singled out Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, saying he should “ask for troops” and “invite” him into the community.

But Trump left it murky whether that would mean National Guard boots on the ground or some other federal muscle.

“The Democrats like crime,” Trump sneered. “They’re against crime prevention.” He also predicted crime would be one of the defining issues in the 2026 midterm elections.

Trump calls MSNBC 'worse than Tren de Aragua'

Trump didn’t just stick to policy.

He went off-script to roast his favorite media punching bag MSNBC, comparing the cable network to Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang.

“They showed one scene where a bunch of Tren de Aragua guys or whatever, maybe MS-13, maybe MSDNC, okay? Because to me they’re worse,” Trump joked, drawing laughs from his Cabinet. “I think they’re worse – MSNBC may be as worse than Tren de Aragua. Real scum, real scum – real dishonest people.”

The president’s quip came as he bragged about National Guard troops infiltrating gangs in the capital, something that’s become a regular sight in recent weeks.

Reporter shares trauma of being mugged by masked man in DC

Since Trump’s takeover began on August 7, the Justice Department claims more than 1,000 arrests have been made in DC, including at least 300 immigration-related detainments and the seizure of 111 illegal guns. Over 2,000 National Guard troops, rifles in hand, now patrol the streets alongside federal agencies like the FBI, DEA, ATF and DHS.

Trump even paused his Cabinet meeting to spotlight a testimonial from a reporter who said she had been brutally mugged in the city. Iris Tao, a journalist with NTD News, told the room how two years ago she was pistol-whipped by a masked man after refusing to hand over her phone, wallet, and laptop.

“That has deeply traumatized myself and my family,” Tao revealed.

Trump responded, “It’s amazing you weren’t shot.”

Tao thanked him for making the streets safer. “I’m very blessed and that’s why having this opportunity to stand here and share my story today… Mr President, thank you for now making DC safer for us, for our families,” she said.

The president seized on her story to stress that crime in the capital has touched “reporters and journalists and good people” alike.

“I bet you see a big difference on the street right now,” Trump boasted.