Congressional Democrats introduced legislation this week to nix President Trump’s temporary takeover of the federal district’s police department, which accompanied the deployment of federal law enforcement officers and the D.C. National Guard to the streets of our nation’s capital. Such a bill only makes sense if one holds that anything Trump does is by definition wrong; in this case, it proves that Democrats have short memories.

The reason for Trump’s takeover of D.C. policing is straightforward: the city has suffered from intolerably high crime for years. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore,” Trump declared.

Whether he is willing to admit it or not, everyone who has lived and worked in Washington, D.C. knows that Trump’s characterization is more or less true. On Wednesday, NPR admitted that locals in some poor neighborhoods “have given up reporting to police because they feel a lot of crimes go unpunished.” Although highest in poor neighborhoods, crime is prevalent everywhere around D.C., even impacting government officials and their staff in the swankified areas around Capitol Hill.

But the basic truth of Trump’s characterization did not dissuade Democratic legislators from indulging in a bit of dramatic pearl-clutching. “Shocking stuff, even for Trump,” responded Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.). “Suspicious minds might wonder if this is just kind of a first step towards a move on other parts of the government in D.C.” Ivey’s suburban district borders eastern D.C., where crime is worst, and shares a similar crime problem.

“At the end of the day, it’s pretty telling,” Ivey elaborated. On “January 6th ... he doesn’t want to call the National Guard. Here you get essentially a minor felony, and he’s going to call the National Guard and federalize the D.C. police?” What an interesting comparison. Keep it in the back of your mind.

Never willing to be outdone in exclamations of hypocritical outrage, the mainstream media piled on. “National Guard vehicles were also spotted near the National Mall early Thursday,” reported a D.C. publication simply called “The Hill.” They make it sound as if a dangerous tiger, or some similarly exotic animal, were running loose in the city.

But no D.C. resident is surprised at the sight of the D.C. Guard or federal law enforcement officers in the city. The D.C. National Guard armory sits only two miles away from the National Mall, and the D.C. Guard routinely supplies additional manpower whenever major protests or government events (like inauguration) require it. In addition, federal officers from dozens of agencies stand guard at every federal building throughout D.C. — of which there are many, especially around the National Mall.

Nor did the commonality of a federal presence in the federal district prevent protestors from harassing agents. Earlier this week, a group of protestors (whether paid or local is unclear) heckled agents at a vehicle checkpoint near 14th Street NW — a freeway exit funneling traffic toward the White House, which seems to be closed about half the time for a wide variety of reasons. Their signs read, “Go home, fascists” and “Get off our streets.” If the protestors were locals, they seem to have forgotten that the D.C. National Guard is simply comprised of their own patriotic neighbors.

Another act of protest was almost cartoonishly absurd. In northwest D.C., a man holding a sub sandwich began cursing loudly at law enforcement officials — from Customs and Border Protection, as it turned out — “Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” When the officers ignored him, the man became increasingly agitated. He got in their face yelling “Shame! Shame!” Unable to provoke the officers, the man finally threw his sandwich forcefully at an agent’s chest and sprinted away.

The officers chased down the man, Sean Charles Dunn and charged him with felony assault. Dunn was evidently unrepentant admitting defiantly to a detective, “I did it. I threw a sandwich.” This sounds like someone who has a major problem with authority. But here’s where the story takes its most delicious twist (if you like the taste of irony): Dunn worked in internal affairs at the Department of Justice. He was a member of the federal law enforcement agencies he seemed to despise.

“This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ,” responded U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “You will NOT work in this administration while disrespecting our government and law enforcement.” Dunn has been fired.

Speaking of the Deep State, it seems it was alive and well inhibiting the D.C. National Guard on January 6, 2021 as well. Recall from earlier that Rep. Ivey blamed President Trump for activating the National Guard for general law enforcement purposes now, when he didn’t activate them on January 6. That is the narrative Democrats have advanced for the past four-and-a-half years.

But, according to a congressional investigation, Trump did order the National Guard to be ready for deployment on January 3, argued Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) on “Washington Watch.” “Senior officials in the Pentagon purposefully held back the National Guard,” he said, causing a 3.5-hour delay once they were ready to deploy.

This conclusion contradicted the official report issued by the Department of Defense inspector general (IG). Based on the testimony of four senior whistleblowers, Congress reviewed all 44 depositions taken as part of the IG investigation, which led them to draw a totally contrary conclusion.

But all this information came to light long after the fact. In the moment, Trump’s Democratic opponents completely dominated the media narrative. They insisted that Trump should have deployed more troops to protect the Capitol from the dangerous MAGA rabble, and they took actions to match their words.

For the two weeks until Joe Biden’s inauguration as president on January 20, 2021, downtown Washington, D.C. saw the greatest military presence in recent memory. Scores of city blocks, encompassing the White House, Capitol Hill, and the National Mall, sat fortified behind anti-scale fencing. D.C. Guardsmen with long guns and armored vehicles manned every checkpoint through the barricade, allowing no one to pass without a photo I.D. showing that they lived and worked inside. Those memories, too, are seared into the eyeballs of D.C. residents.

Four years ago, Democrats were all for a show of military force in the federal district to deter criminal misbehavior. But now that Donald Trump has done it, they profess outrage.