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Trump famously called D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) “incompetent” and rarely forayed beyond the White House grounds other than to visit the Trump hotel a few blocks away. But it was his decision to not immediately call off his supporters as they attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that many D.C. residents saw as unforgivable.
Some of the more than two dozen people interviewed across the District on Tuesday said they were thrilled to see Trump become the first of America’s 45 presidents to be charged with a crime and surrender to authorities. “Finally,” they exclaimed. A few were angry with what they viewed as a political charade. Many expressed simply being tired of the former president and wishing he would go away.
This being Washington, more than a few people said they couldn’t comment because (a) they worked in politics, (b) they worked for the federal government, (c) they were active-duty military or (d) they just didn’t want to get into it again with family members who might read their quotes.
Will Higgins, 49, an engineer on his day off who was walking his dachshund, Nola, in the Navy Yard neighborhood, was not afraid to share his opinion on Trump being charged with 34 felony counts. “I’m ecstatic,” he said. “I moved here right when he became president, and this has been a long time coming.”
Trump pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
At a stand on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE in Anacostia where he was selling socks, perfume and deodorant, Edward Johnson, 59, said he spent a year in jail for a parole violation. The former president, Johnson believes, needs to face the music if he’s found guilty.
“If half the people here in D.C. did what he did, they’d be in jail,” he said. “That’s the highest position in the country, and if you’re found to be violating laws you need to pay the price.”
Across the street, Vince Gray (not the D.C. Council member) didn’t mince words about what he thought should happen.
“They need to put his a– in jail,” said Gray, 32, a cook who was heading to work. “He ain’t above the law. He needs to be charged to the fullest extent just like everybody else. I don’t care if it was Obama. The law’s the law for a reason.”
Marc Walker, a concrete demolition worker from Baltimore, saw things differently. “This is just a stunt,” said Walker, standing next to his pickup truck with an Ultra MAGA sticker on the back a few blocks from Nationals Park. “I think it’s all politically motivated. We’ve got people out here doing way worse things who are not getting prosecuted.”
Walker, a Trump supporter, said he believes the case against the former president will eventually be thrown out. “But the fact that they’re continuously going after this man, they’re just helping his ratings. … And it’s a distraction from what the American people really need.”
But Walker’s views were in the minority in a city where fewer than 5 percent of registered voters supported Trump in 2016 and just over 5 percent voted for him in 2020. Indeed, for some here, the arrest of the former president was cause for great celebration. And drinking.
Several bars in town offered happy hour prices and viewing parties during Trump’s afternoon arraignment.
At Fight Club on Capitol Hill, owner Andrew Markert, 40, offered concoctions including Sad Boys Tea and a Dark N’ Stormy Daniels, a nod to the woman at the center of Trump’s indictment. A bartender crushed mint for Indictmint Juleps. “I figured it would be a good way to get some people out to have some fun and watch the circus,” Markert said.
After the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters on the nearby Capitol, the bar, then a pop-up, had to close for several nights and lost money, he recalled. For him, offering arraignment specials on cocktails at the former president’s expense was a bit of justice. “I figured maybe Trump owes me one,” he said.
At Union Pub, on the other side of Capitol Hill, drink specials were also flowing — including deals on Witch Hunt pitchers. “It’s just something fun to get people banded together,” said bartender Rai Jochum, 30, as she made a Stormy Manhattan. Several customers declined to talk because they said they had sneaked out of work.
But if the indictment put some in a partying mood, others were feeling more sober. The spectacle of a former president being arrested, fingerprinted and charged was not a vision of America anyone grew up with.
“I’m glad it’s happening,” said Maria Murphy, 63, as she ran errands in her Navy Yard neighborhood. “I hope justice is served, but I have to say I’m not optimistic.”
Vineet Kapoor, 35, a software engineer from India who lives in Washington, said it’s important that Trump face consequences if he committed a crime.
“We don’t want to go a China way or a Russia way where presidents can act with impunity,” he said.
There’s also the question for many here about if or how the indictment will affect Trump’s chances in the 2024 race. Trump announced in November that he will run for president and leads in polls against potential Republican challengers.
Romney Makle, who has lived in Columbia Heights for eight years and works at Howard University, said he expects Trump to receive just a fine.
“I think it gives him this stigma that he’s above the law and empowers both him and his supporters,” said Makle, 33. He said he views Trump more as an entertainer than a politician and called the frenzy surrounding the indictment “a comedy show on wheels.”
“Democrats and Republicans want to make America better, but their mission is sidetracked because of things like this,” Makle said. “This is all disheartening to me and just a joke. We have other issues to deal with and they get drowned out when we focus everything on Trump.”
There wasn’t much of a crowd Tuesday afternoon in front of the White House, Trump’s former Washington home. Just the usual assortment of tourists, school kids and important badge-wearers. One man held a sign that said “All Americans should protest Trump,” but no one seemed to be paying much attention to him.
Inna Ayos, 27, from Indianapolis, was visiting Washington with her partner, Ethan Scott, also 27. For Ayos, the indictment and Trump’s ongoing legal and political travails are wearing thin.
“I’m just exasperated. It feels like Groundhog Day. Four years that will never end,” she said. “I’m glad he’s being held accountable for what he’s done, but I’m skeptical anything will come of this.”
