Donald Trump’s second term has been dominated by White House power grabs, and the president’s efforts to militarize the nation’s capital are just the latest in a broader pattern. His vice president, however, has come up with a new defense in response to the administration’s critics.

INGRAHAM: People say you all are gonna roll through other cities -- 'Oh, martial law is gonna be declared.' And to that you say?

JD VANCE: How is it a power grab when we've already declined murders by 35% in nine days?

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-08-20T23:08:34.166Z

In his latest Fox News interview, JD Vance defended Trump’s decision to send National Guard troops and federal agents into the streets of Washington, D.C., suggesting to Laura Ingraham that the ends justify the means. From the transcript:

How is it a ‘power grab,’ or how is it a ‘stunt,’ when we have already declined murders by 35% in nine days? How many people are living and breathing today because Donald Trump had the willpower to say, ‘You know what, we’re sick of D.C. being a home to lawlessness, we’re going to bring some public order back to the nation’s capital?’

.....Just as a matter of logic and coherence, this doesn’t make sense. Even if the statistic were correct (and it’s not), the relative success of a power grab policy doesn’t mean it’s not a power grab.

,,,,,He didn’t say the accusations related to tyranny were wrong; he instead suggested the accusations were irrelevant. D.C. is “going to hell,” the Republican falsely claimed, so if that means acting like a “dictator,” so be it.

For all intents and purposes, Vance’s line was identical. It would’ve been easy (although not necessarily persuasive) for the vice president to argue that the White House’s militarization policy in D.C. isn’t a power grab. He argued instead that the accusation is unimportant because the policy is proving effective.

It’s a case rooted in the idea that underlying principles about democracy, institutions and the rule of law simply don’t matter. What does matter, according to the White House, is results — and if the actual results are at odds with Team Trump’s hopes, then Team Trump will just make stuff up.

As Vance and his colleagues prepare to export their D.C. agenda to other cities, this problem is likely to get worse before it gets better.