Muriel Bowser, the liberal mayor of Washington, D.C., where over 90% of voters supported Vice President Kamala Harris in November, has unexpectedly expressed positive comments about President-elect Donald Trump, saying the two of them had a “great meeting” this week as he prepares to take over for a nearly-absent President Joe Biden.
“Today, President Trump and I had a great meeting to discuss our shared priorities for the President’s second term. President Trump and I both want Washington, DC to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation,” Bowser said.
The mayor offered “collaboration” between her government and the feds, “especially around our federal workforce, underutilized federal buildings, parks and green spaces, and infrastructure. “I am optimistic that we will continue to find common ground with the President during his second term, and we look forward to supporting a successful inauguration on January 20,” she added.
Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser met with President Donald Trump.
Following the meeting, the Mayor shared the following statement: pic.twitter.com/XGRyQaDJW5
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) December 31, 2024
Observers might find it perplexing to see Bowser’s sudden camaraderie with the Republican leader, considering her sharp criticisms of him in the past. In 2020, following protests that resulted in defacement near the White House, the progressive politician announced that the area would be renamed “Black Lives Matter Plaza,” as reported by Fox News. During the same period, Bowser publicly clashed with Trump over his deployment of federal forces to manage protests in Washington, D.C., a city with a predominantly Black electorate deeply shaken by George Floyd’s death.
The federal workforce in Washington, D.C., has not escaped the consequences of years of increasing urban crime. Several congressional staff members have been mugged, and last year, a congressman was robbed at gunpoint. Trump pledged during his campaign to address and reverse this troubling trend. “We will rebuild our cities, including our capital in Washington DC, which has become a very dangerous and badly managed place. We’re going to make them safe, clean and beautiful again. We will teach our children to love our country, to honor our history, and to always respect our great American flag,” he said at his sold-out rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City just weeks before the election.
Bowser previously positioned herself in front of the J6 congressional select committee, informing lawmakers that “white supremacists” deceived law enforcement into thinking they were at the Capitol to protest peacefully. “People thought they were friendly to law enforcement and that they loved their country,” Bowser testified in 2021, The Hill previously reported. “People didn’t think that these white nationalists would overthrow the Capitol building.”
