Leading Republican Pledges Trump Will Crack Down on More Blue Cities

A common left-wing slogan—which pithily summarizes the “imperial boomerang” thesis—is that fascism is imperialism “at home” or “turned inward.” This is typically stated with an implied negative view of both of those things.

In an appearance on Newsmax, Republican Representative James Comer of Kentucky advanced—and endorsed—his own positive twist on that concept. Following Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., Comer said the military should be sent to Democratic-run cities to “reduce crime,” leveraging experiences from America’s numerous foreign entanglements since the 2000s.

Comer: "We're gonna support doing this in other cities if it works out in Washington DC. We spend a lot on our military. Our military has been in many countries around the world for the past two decades walking the streets trying to reduce crime. We need to focus on the big… pic.twitter.com/VDTU38p3IR

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 14, 2025

“We’re gonna support doing this in other cities, if it works out in Washington, D.C.,” Comer said. “And, again, it’s unfortunate, but we spend a lot on our military. Our military has been in many countries around the world for the past two decades, walking the streets, trying to reduce crime in other countries. We need to focus on the big cities in America now, and that’s what the president is doing.”

“I think this is an experiment that’s probably needed in a lot of the Democrat-run cities in America,” Comer later added. The sentiment echoes Trump’s description of the capital as a testing ground for crackdowns on more cities.

Comer also expressed confidence that President Trump will garner the votes in Congress needed to extend the 30-day takeover. The president has vowed to do so with or without the legislative branch’s approval, but Comer dubiously predicted that Trump’s action in D.C. will be so popular that enough Senate Democrats will be swayed to extend it.

“I think people that represent big cities, which are the Democrats in Congress, they’re going to probably hear from their constituents: ‘Look, that worked in Washington, D.C. Why don’t you vote to allow President Trump to come into Chicago or New York City or Philadelphia and try to combat the criminal activity in their city?’”