Democrats are struggling to mount a response as Trump has federalized Washington, D.C., and seized control of the Metropolitan Police Department while threatening to take similar actions in other Democratic cities.

In interviews with The Hill, some Democrats have expressed frustration with their party’s emphasis on decreasing crime rates instead of focusing on the way voters feel walking the streets of their city.

“These crime statistics, as impressive as they are, are no substitute for how people feel and what they see, and Washington residents still feel like crime is too high and too pervasive, and … that reality has created this opening for Donald Trump,” said Democratic strategist Anthony Coley, who resides in the nation’s capital.

“Now that is no excuse for this political stunt he is trying to do, but from a raw political perspective, you never want to give your political opponent an opening to address a real concern that your constituents have.”

In a press conference last week, Trump signaled that Washington was just the start of his federal crackdown on crime and Democratic cities across the country could be next.

“You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is,” Trump said. “We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem. And then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland. We don't even mention that anymore — they're so far gone.”

© The Hill