Mayor Muriel Bowser is yet to declare if she’ll run for reelection. Sources say the challenges of managing a relationship with President Trump and a hostile Republican Congress have worn on her. But many of these interactions have been behind closed doors.
So, what really went on between Bowser and Trump surrounding the takeover? We talked with the Washington Post’s Jonathan O'Connell about his new investigation that reveals Bowser appeased Trump far more than was publicly admitted.
Here are four defining moments — some public, some private — that may have prevented a complete takeover but upset many D.C. voters.
Quietly Cleaning Tunnel Tiles
Before Trump’s second term, Bowser met with the President-elect in Mar-a-Lago (one of the few Democratic politicians to publicly do so). Trump candidly talked about his desire to take over D.C., calling it “crime-ridden” and filled with “filth and decay.”
Specifically, Trump called out the 395 tunnel under the National Mall for having dirty tiles. A few weeks later, the tunnel had been spruced up, at the quiet direction of Bowser. It was the first in a line of small appeasements.
Ripping Up BLM Plaza
The earliest publicly defining moment of Bowser and Trump’s relationship came in March when she agreed to get rid of Black Lives Matter Plaza. “Her decision to pave that over is an indication of the strategy she's gonna take … to cooperate where she can,” O'Connell told us.
Rather than fight Trump directly, Bowser chose to bend instead, hoping to help save home rule, which she’s repeatedly described as D.C.’s ultimate prize.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser departs a news conference. (The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Cocktails at the White House
Fast forward to a few weeks into the federal takeover. While at a White House meeting, Bowser is pulled into the Oval Office where Trump asks her to talk up the crime enforcement surge.
Thinking it would help get D.C. from under Trump’s thumb, Bowser expressed her gratitude at a press conference later that day, saying, “We greatly appreciate the surge of officers.” The fallout was strong and immediate, with protesters even rallying against Bowser outside a D.C. Council meeting. But Trump did not renew the emergency order.
The day before Trump’s order expired, Bowser was invited to a cocktail event at the White House to celebrate the “success” of the surge. No announcement or photos were released and she didn’t talk to press after. Later, she told O’Connell it was a necessary opportunity to get in front of cabinet members and plead D.C.'s case.
I hear from a lot of readers and residents who just want to see a mayor who will [fight Trump]. And she's not that.
Jonathan O'Connell, Washington Post
Sending Marshawn Lynch Memes
Bowser, famously unflappable, is careful about what she expresses publicly about Trump. But when O'Connell repeatedly asked her to comment on Trump’s D.C. insults, she started to send him a meme of Marshawn Lynch saying: " I mean, that motherfucker say a lot of shit, but at the end of the day …” That’s about as good an answer as any.
