What's Trump doing in DC?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "What's Trump Doing in DC?"

Podcast: Consider This from NPR
Host: Ailsa Chang
Guest: Masha Gessen (Columnist, New York Times, Author of Surviving Autocracy)
Date: August 20, 2025
Episode Length: Approximated at 15 minutes (ads and promos excluded)

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Overview

This episode of Consider This dives into the federal takeover of law enforcement in Washington, D.C. by President Trump, focusing on the impact on local businesses, the city's social atmosphere, and the broader implications for American democracy and autocracy. Through local stories and expert analysis, the podcast asks: What is the real goal of the federal intervention in D.C., and what does it signal for the country's democratic norms?

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Scene in D.C.: Impact on Local Businesses

[00:02–02:07]

• Ellie Restaurant’s Struggles:

  • Nick Pimentel, the co-owner of Ellie in D.C.'s Mount Pleasant neighborhood, describes a drop in both customer traffic and morale since the start of 2025.

  • Restaurant Week, normally a boost for business, has underperformed dramatically this year:

    "Last summer, Restaurant Week we were pretty much fully booked all seven days. This year, reservations are still coming in, but we're about 50 to 60% booked." (Nick Pimentel, 00:49)

  • Pimentel highlights the unnerving presence of federal law enforcement in the neighborhood:

    "He has seen officers, masked, plain clothes, armored, mostly just standing around in the neighborhood, but also they're walking down the street looking in windows.” (Ailsa Chang, 01:17 & Nick Pimentel, 01:31)

• Atmospheric Change:

  • Staff and customers feel "unnerved" rather than reassured.
  • Pimentel clarifies that he wasn't threatened by crime beforehand; his main concern is keeping his business and employees afloat.

    "We're not a profitable restaurant. Definitely not going to even break even in August." (Nick Pimentel, 01:10)

2. The Federal Takeover: What’s Happening in D.C.?

[03:48–04:42]

• The Trump administration has:

  • Deployed the National Guard in D.C.
  • Set up immigration checkpoints.
  • Invoked emergency powers to take over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Force.

• Official justification: Combating "out of control crime."

• Contradictory Data: Violent crime is actually at a 30-year low.

3. Autocracy & Perception: Masha Gessen's Analysis

[04:42–08:06]

The Power of Perception and Control

• Autocratic Signaling:

  • Gessen argues that much of autocracy is about being seen as in charge of "all the people in uniforms and carrying guns."

    "There is something that Trump is extremely sensitive to, which is whether he looks like he's in control of everything...in an autocracy, ultimately it's probably the most important thing is what people think about who's in charge of all the people in uniforms and carrying guns." (Masha Gessen, 04:52)

• Visible Law Enforcement and "Feeling Safe":

  • Trump claims to have received thanks from citizens who now feel safer; however, Gessen challenges both the credibility and policy value of such anecdotal assertions.

    "We have a president who systematically says things that are not true. So I think it may be a mistake to engage with this assertion that he has heard from people who say they feel safer...that's not generally how public policy is made." (Masha Gessen, 06:10)

Echoes of Russia: Speed and Normalization

• Comparing Autocratic Transitions:

  • Gessen, who witnessed Russia’s shift under Putin, sees disturbing parallels:

    "The demonstration that this military force is deployed directly by the leader of the country is an autocratic hallmark." (Masha Gessen, 07:30)

  • The process in the U.S. is described as accelerated compared to Russia:

    "It took Putin over a decade to consolidate autocratic rule...I think Trump has done in seven months." (Masha Gessen, 08:18)

• Normalization of Extraordinary Measures:

  • Even as sweeping actions are taken, public and journalistic reactions become increasingly blunted:

    "We are falling into the trap of treating these as isolated incidents and also looking for ways in which this isn't quite the disaster that maybe we feel in the pit of our stomach." (Masha Gessen, 09:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Power of Appearances:

  "For somebody to come on the scene and say, okay, I'm in charge of all these people is a very important part of establishing the perception of autocratic rule."
  (Masha Gessen, 05:38)

• On Public Safety Claims:

  "Not just perception, but, you know, whether these kinds of measures are effective for public safety. And there's zero evidence for that."
  (Masha Gessen, 06:57)

• On the Pace of Autocratic Change:

  "It's moving so much faster in the United States than it did in Russia...It took Putin over a decade to do as much as I think Trump has done in seven months."
  (Masha Gessen, 08:18)

• On Societal Response:

  "Normalization on steroids...Now we're watching this happen in D.C. and we're not even, I think, spending enough time talking about this as a pat."
  (Masha Gessen, 09:15)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:02] – Restaurant owner Nick Pimentel on business downturn and new law enforcement presence.
• [01:10] – Pimentel on the changing industry climate since COVID and under new federal policies.
• [03:48] – Description of the Trump administration's moves to take over D.C. law enforcement.
• [04:42] – Masha Gessen introduced; first impressions on the D.C. situation.
• [06:10] – Discussion on the reliability and policy relevance of Trump’s safety claims.
• [07:30] – Parallels between D.C. and the rise of autocracy in Russia.
• [08:18] – Gessen on the relative speed of U.S. normalization.
• [09:15] – Discussion about normalization and diminished outrage.

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode is urgent, analytical, and grounded in personal narrative and historical comparison. Local distress is juxtaposed with expert warnings about the dangers of normalization in the face of rapid, centralized assertions of power. Through both the voices of those on the ground and those with a global perspective on autocracy, listeners are cautioned to look beyond official narratives and recognize the significance of these developments for American governance.

Transcript

[Ailsa Chang]

On a typical Wednesday afternoon, Ellie, a bakery and restaurant in D.C. s Mount Pleasant neighborhood, is fairly full. Many of the tables are usually occupied with people plugging away on their laptops, coffee mugs and sandwiches to the side of their cafe tables. But co owner Nick Pimentel said he has noticed traffic slowing down since January.

[Nick Pimentel]

It just seems like every time we think we figured it out, something new happens, either a change in the administration or a federal takeover or cost of eggs.

[Ailsa Chang]

It is restaurant week in D.C. right now, a promotional event aimed at boosting sales during the typically slow August. But Pimentel says this year Restaurant Week has not given Ellie the boost that they've come to expect and badly need.

[Nick Pimentel]

Last summer, Restaurant Week we were pretty much fully booked all seven days. This year, reservations are still coming in, but we're about 50 to 60% booked.

[Ailsa Chang]

Ellie is a fixture in this area after having been around for nearly eight years. But you know, it's a tough industry. And Pimentel says it has not been.

[Nick Pimentel]

The same since COVID We're not a profitable restaurant. Definitely not going to even break even in August.

[Ailsa Chang]

He says both guests and staff are unnerved by the federal law enforcement presence. He has seen officers, masked, plain clothes, armored, mostly just standing around in the neighborhood, but also they're walking down the.

[Nick Pimentel]

Street looking in windows.

[Ailsa Chang]

Looking for what, exactly?

[Nick Pimentel]

I don't know. Don't know. Looking for the crime that they claim is here.

[Ailsa Chang]

President Trump called in the National Guard and took over the D.C. police earlier this month, he says, as a way to crack down on crime. And he says it's working.

[Nick Pimentel]

Friends are calling me up, Democrats are.

[Masha Gessen]

Calling me up, and they're saying, sir.

[Nick Pimentel]

I want to thank you.

[Masha Gessen]

My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years, and Washington, D.C. is safe.

[Ailsa Chang]

But Pimentel says he wasn't threatened by the crime. And with 47 people on his payroll and fewer people than he would like in the dining room, Pimentel says he's more worried about making sure his people get paid. Consider this. President Trump says the Administration's takeover of D.C. is making life safer. But many of the city's residents and business owners are questioning the administration's moves. So what exactly is the goal of the federal takeover in Washington, D.C. from NPR, I'm Ailsa Chang.

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That means we spent the last 15 years talking about what exactly?

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Actually awful.

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[Ailsa Chang]

It's Consider this from npr. The increased federal law enforcement presence is just one of the many ways in which the Trump administration has tried to take over Washington, dc. The administration has deployed the National Guard on DC Streets. Immigration agents have set up checkpoints all over the city, and Trump invoked an emergency power to take over DC's Metropolitan Police Force. The White House says it's responding to, quote, out of control crime throughout dc, but data from the Metropolitan Police Department shows that violent, violent crime is at a 30 year low there. So what happens when an executive takes over a large part of law enforcement in a capital city? Well, that's a question we're going to put to M. Gessen. They're a columnist with the New York Times and the author of several books, most recently Surviving Autocracy. Welcome back to ALL THINGS considered.

[Masha Gessen]

Good to be here. Thank you.

[Ailsa Chang]

Good to have you. Okay, so tell me, what was your first reaction when you started watching what's been playing out in D.C. over the last week and a half?

[Masha Gessen]

Oh, I don't know if you want me to say that on air, please feel free. You know, so much of establishing autocratic rule is a matter of perception because, you know, we tend to think of this as sort of a series of decrees and executive orders or court decisions. And all of that is very important. But there is something that Trump is extremely sensitive to, which is whether he looks like he's in control of everything. And to put it more bluntly, in an autocracy, ultimately it's probably the most important thing is what people think about who's in charge of all the people in uniforms and carrying guns.

[Ailsa Chang]

Okay.

[Masha Gessen]

And for somebody to come on the scene and say, okay, I'm in charge of all these people is a very important part of establishing the perception of autocratic rule.

[Ailsa Chang]

Okay. That said, the president has pointed out that he has heard from people who feel safer now because of the increased law enforcement presence on the streets in D.C. now, sure, those reports have not been independently verified, but do you think there is an argument that the visible presence of law enforcement can make many people feel safer?

[Masha Gessen]

You know, there are a couple of things I want to say about that. One is that we have a president who systematically says things that are not true. So I think it may be a mistake to engage with this assertion that he has heard from people who say they feel safer. I would also say that that's not generally how public policy is made. You know, there are more complicated things than whether one or two or even dozens of individual people feel a particular way. There are. That we measure that have to do with public safety and any other policy. You know, the actual metrics of whether it.

[Ailsa Chang]

Not just perception.

[Masha Gessen]

Yeah, not just perception, but, you know, whether these kinds of measures are effective for public safety. And there's zero evidence for that.

[Ailsa Chang]

I want to note that you have mentioned autocracy, autocratic government, several times already, and you have reason to make these references. I mean, you lived in Russia as that fledgling democracy tipped into authoritarianism. And I'm just curious if you could flesh that out a little bit more in terms of do you see any echoes of that in what is happening in Washington, D.C. right now?

[Masha Gessen]

Absolutely. The demonstration that this military force is deployed directly by the leader of the country is an autocratic hallmark. And I think that that's what we're living through. I think we are witnessing, or have already witnessed, that with every attack on voting rights, but also time military force is asserted on domestic soil, it becomes less likely that people will be able to fully exercise their electoral rights. And that means we're at the point of autocratic breakthrough.

[Ailsa Chang]

Are there differences or similarities that you're seeing now in how journalists are reacting to these moves by President Trump versus what you saw of the media during Putin's rise in Russia?

[Masha Gessen]

You know, one thing that's significant, and this is not so much about the media as about the autocratic process itself. It's is that it's moving so much faster in the United States than it did in Russia. It took Putin over a decade to consolidate autocratic rule. Or put a different way, it took Putin over a decade to do as much as I think Trump has done in seven months. So Russian journalists were to a large extent complicit in normalizing what was happening politically, partly because it was so slow and partly because you could look at any one thing and say, well, yeah, maybe not such a great idea, but also not so terrible either.

[Ailsa Chang]

Interesting. So do you think the speed of what President Trump is doing is actually a way to slow down the normalization of these tactics here in America?

[Masha Gessen]

Well, that was going to be the bad news. The bad news is that you think that that would happen, but I'm actually observing normalization on steroids. I mean, think about how shocked we were when the National Guard was deployed in Los Angeles over the objections of the governor. And yet it happened. And now we're watching this happen in D.C. and we're not even, I think, spending enough time talking about this as a pat. We are falling into the trap of treating these as isolated incidents and also looking for ways in which this isn't quite the disaster that maybe we feel in the pit of our stomach. It is. And I think that that's just all parts of normalization.

[Ailsa Chang]

EM Gessen is a columnist with the New York Times and the author of several books, including Surviving Autocracy. Thank you so much for joining us today.

[Masha Gessen]

Thank you for having me.

[Ailsa Chang]

This episode was produced by Avery Keatley and Megan Lim, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Courtney Dorney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's Consider this from npr. I'm Ailsa Chang. Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force showing up in your everyday life, powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Short wave podcast from NPR.

[Masha Gessen]

On the next through line from NPR.

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The man who saw a dangerous omission in the U.S. constitution and took it upon himself to fix it.

[Masha Gessen]

If something happened to a president who was still alive, the consequences for the country would have been enormous.

[Ailsa Chang]

The 25th Amendment. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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