How pathetic is it that he actually had to explain this to Martha Raddatz? Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen made an appearance on this Sunday's This Week on ABC, and was asked about Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Washington DC, and Van Hollen hit Trump hard for using a made up emergency as an excuse to abuse his power:
"All of this is a total abuse of power. It’s a manufactured emergency," Van Hollen said in an interview with "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "Obviously D.C. can do more to reduce violent crime, as we can across the country. But as you pointed out, crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low and a downward trajectory. So, this is all an opportunity for Donald Trump to play dictator in Washington, D.C."
"The way the law is written, it appears he has the legal authority. And Mayor [Muriel] Bowser conceded that. So, what is the abuse of power here?" Raddatz pressed.
"The abuse of power is claiming that this is an emergency. And everybody who is watching what happens knows that this is not an emergency in Washington, D.C.," Van Hollen argued. [...]
Over the weekend, several Republican-led states announced additional Guard troops would also deploy to Washington to support the president's mission.
As some outlets report the National Guard could be armed soon, Van Hollen said, "Well, that's very troubling, because, as you know, the National Guard, first of all, is not supposed to engage in any local law enforcement activity. We have the Posse Comitatus Act that prohibits them from engaging in local law enforcement. And so I'm not sure what it is that they need to do where they need to be armed."
