Douglas Murray: Trump cleaned up crime in DC and taught everyone a lesson in public safety

I never fail to be amazed at what we get used to.Trundling along in the New York subway the other day, I saw all the usual sights.

Turnstile hoppers, of course, who never fail to aggravate me. “Why am I the only mug who’s paying?” is my general feeling.“Why did I just effectively pay for that guy’s journey as well?”I think.

But perhaps these folks just misread Mamdani’s manifesto promises and think the subway, as well as the buses, are already free. Then there were the homeless people everywhere, of course.And unlike the turnstile hoppers, I feel nothing but profound sadness for these people.

It is such an indictment of a society that in one of the richest cities on Earth we have so many people trying to find a patch of dry ground to make their own in this freezing weather. And of course there are the crazy people, the unwell people and the people whom every passenger seems to be keeping a careful eye on as they holler at the subway car and shake their fists at the moon.This isn’t normal.It isn’t normal that a daily commute should also be a daily lesson in situational awareness training.

But the lurking possibility of violence is something we New Yorkers are all used to.And we don’t have to be. I went down to DC this week and got a reminder of this.

I remember that arriving at Union Station in the nation’s capital was an alarming experience. During COVID, the whole DC park opposite the station, as well as the station itself, was transformed into one huge homeless encampment with protests for the myriad causes of that period flagged everywhere.It used to be embarrassing arriving in the capital.And at night, it could be scary. But how changed everything is now. Ever since President Trump decided to clean up Washington, DC, you can see the results for yourself.The Trump haters had a field day, of course.

“Troops on the streets are a sign of fascism” was the gist of their argument.As everything always is with them.

As though a cit...