Sadly, as Mr. Fallows and his wife most likely know, Trump and Vance are happy no one is coming to Washington DC. They want to do their damage without others watching. Plus, the monuments on the Mall are not about them, so they are insignificant. The Museums do not celebrate them either, therefore they offer fake histories, exhibits, and art work that is not valued, understood, or appreciated by either the President, VP, or his Make America Grim Again crowd.
You are so lucky to live in the DC area. I miss it. You walked a long way - but one of my favorite routes. I walked the Mall the afternoon of 9-11. It looked about as abandoned that afternoon.
Extinguishing an undesirable activity, in behavioral psychology, is best done by absolutely not responding. Is it possible for cities or neighborhoods to ‘go dark’ when the undesirables come in?
Before retiring, over a 20 year period I had many business trips to DC for various news media clients, and I always enjoyed the challenge and being in DC generally. A memorable personal trip was in December 1995. My 12-year-old daughter was selected to represent her school and to deliver for display at the White House a Christmas ornament she made. After our White House tour we had dinner at a nearby restaurant and saw Jody Powell at the bar as well as Secret Service agents. Assuming that Jimmy Carter might arrive we asked Powell if we could get a photo of our daughters with Mr. Carter, and he nodded yes. (It turned out they had a dinner to celebrate progress in eradicating the African Guinea worm.) When Carter marched into the restaurant with his entourage he paused for about 3 seconds with his trademark smile, and we got a wonderful heirloom photo. All of which to say: Washington DC is a magnificent city and evokes feelings of awe, pride, hope, historical understanding, and at times joy among citizens and those who aspire to be.
The deserted National Mall is a fitting symbol of Trump's demented rule. The term "Killjoy" should be carved into his long-awaited tombstone, as well as those of the other sadists and power worshippers in his administration. Or for Trump: Maybe "American Caligula" is a better description.
Shocked, Jim, shocked - I recall August in DC as a hellhole of heat and humidity - and here you say it's pleasant and lovely. Hail the blessings Trump has brought us! /s
The contrast with the lines of troops in the initial photos, looking like an invasion in force, vs now, having just a couple of humvees, is pretty dramatic. Of course, you as old harmless white guy could walk up and ask questions - if you were a younger and a different color, such casual interviews may not have gone so well.
I suspect this, after the failure in California, is also a bust. These were supposed to trigger wild anti-protests that would justify the Insurrection Act and Martial Law. When California fought back legally, they now target DC, which has no governor to get in the way. But it's a failure too - what if they had a war and nobody came? (Exhibit A - your photos!)
So it's on to Chicago, I hear. There was war in the streets in '68, which I'm sure Trump remembers, since he seems to have stopped learning anything after the '70s. Maybe he expects that will finally get him the rebellion he wants to be seen crushing.
I fear these are some version of the Shock Doctrine, where we are being hit with slashed government, bullied universities, irrational tariffs, erratic foreign policy, all at once early on, ginning up a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt - and then they'll back off, so come election time next year, they can say - "Hey, it's not so bad NOW, is it?" and talk a shell shocked population with fear of even more change into voting to keep the incumbents in power as "stability" - "you don't want even MORE change, do you?"
Trump is too addled to think this through, but somebody is on this behind the scenes. We need a good press to ferret it out. Got any ideas about that, Jim?
Thank you for this! The map of where Ice HS & national guard are posted doesn't show any place where white people live, nor crime for crying out loud.
OMG! I have never seen photos like this of the Mall in DC. When visiting my daughter at Georgetown and American University, then married with children, I always took a few days to visit different museums, historical spots, and other places new to me. It was always full of traffic, both foot, autos, demonstrations and marches witch I attended including Clinton's inauguration.
I have never been afraid in DC, neither was my daughter although sometimes she should have been.
This is ghostly and gastley. This monster has ruined my 82 year old emotional life.
Thank you. Deb and I were stunned when we looked down the Reflecting Pool, toward the Monument and Capitol, from the Lincoln Memorial. For reasons you understand.
I reposted a wonderful picture of the Statue of Liberty in front of the French embassy clad in an Ukrainian flag these days. Two relatives asked me with great worry: Are you in Washington? (We're all in Germany). DT is changing the land the world dreamt about into the land of nightmares.
Thank you. It's a time of deep, well-grounded fear for the people ICE is rounding up, and of rhetorical, manufactured fear that is damaging the whole area.
I grew up in the D.C. suburbs, and love our beautiful Washington, DC. I'm sickened every morning as soon as I'm conscious of what's happening to our country. I just want marching orders. First on my list, of course, is electing Abigail Spanberger as Governor of Virginia. More elections are next year, of course, but I'm very worried how much more democracy will deteriorate by then.
How sad in our nation’s Capitol on a lovely day that there are so few tourists. Trump’s phony ‘crime disaster’ and bludgeoning D. C. With National Guard and FBI ‘security patrols’ are further examples of his cockimamie actions and the negative impacts on Americans and tourists.
My most rightening D C. Experience was on January 20, 1961. This was the Inauguration Day for JFK. Because of a snow storm I was trapped at the State Department and volunteered to be Duty Officer in our top secret/codeword COMINT Department.
Suddenly the top secret red phone didn’t work. Then I looked outside and saw tank carriers traversing a major highway. Having spent years in Nasser’s military government, for a moment I thought OH MY GUARD, IS IT HAPPENING HERE [This was 1961 NOT 2025 and #47.]
Swiftly not to worry, the tank carriers were being used to remove cars stalled on the inauguration route. The only Inauguration Day serious problem was that, with the bright glare off the snow, Robert Frost was unable to ready his inauguration prayer. He repeated another prayer from memory while JFK said ‘Don’t ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’
As I mentioned, this was a looong time ago.
Hope you don’t encounter any masked guys with guns. [Remember, they are purportedly there to protect you, unless they ‘disappear’ you.]
P. S. Still after11 days no internet in our Long Island house. A long, sad story. Optimum is the misnomer for our cable country. Perhaps next Tuesday? I’m writing from a friend’s house.
A potential upside: Trump’s attempt at provocation has backfired. He wanted a replay of the summer of 2020 and got a collective shoulder shrug instead. If all he has to retaliate against is indifference it’ll make every further crackdown look that much more unhinged and unreal. There’s plenty of non-MAGA Trump support out there that will evaporate once they’ve had to put up with too much of his BS.
The challenge, as you understand, is getting to a point where this plummeting-support can register in actual elections. In "regular" circumstances, Trump would be positioned for historic mid-term losses 14 months from now. Between gerrymandering and other election-logistics questions, it all comes down to actually having a regular, more-or-less representative election next year.
Thanks for this, Jim and Deb. Your time was well spent and your efforts are appreciated. Your photomontage is strangely depressing even though it was obviously a gorgeous summer day, and your ad hoc interviews illuminate the absurdity of the deployment of these resources as yet another form of security theater...
... though I did note that you apparently did NOT see elements of ICE or other entities roaming these public venues to profile potential 'targets'... and I did see posts by Kevin Kruse and others showing DC Police confronting folks sitting at bus stops and others by critics of the WH saying that there were protests here and there with a few photos to boot.
On the other hand, I was pleased to NOT see *any* reports of hardcore MAGA supporters making theatrical displays of wandering in the open spaces while offering snide comments about how "safe" it seemed. Maybe they are embarrassed by Trump and Stephen Miller, too... or maybe the ordinary folks in that world are beginning to see the implications of their choices on their own lives back home?
chilling, James, and a story we won't get from corporate media. but maybe this was always the goal: to empty the streets. Hitler's own paintings were empty landscapes, not Nuremberg rallies. the last thing they want is people amiably sharing our public spaces, enjoying ourr beautiful cities. I hope to hell we'll see more coverage of this, people need to know and understand.
I must admit, as someone who has lived off and on in the DC area for more than 15 years over the past 40, I would have cherished a beautiful summer day on the Mall without the mobs of tourists. But it pains me to know the cause of this absence.
For family reasons my wife and I no longer live in the DC area. We are in Boston now. But we are Washingtonians in spirit. We miss it. (The picture for my account on this site is from the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria.) Even the normal ubiquitous military presence is fine. The military folks are just people you see on the Metro, in their cars, walking to their offices, and living as your neighbors.
I'm glad the presence of the NG troops is not an overwhelming show of force. But I fear what may ultimately happen if the next move is from the NG to regular military forces.
Thanks. And yes, I agree: "Normal" life in DC includes regular presence of all kinds of military people, in uniform and out. After all, there's a "Pentagon" stop on the Metro! And a million other reminders, as you're aware, that national defense is a major part of the business and culture of DC. (As I mentioned in another post, my first experience in DC, as a two-year-old, was when my dad, as a Navy doctor, was assigned to the then-Bethesda Naval Hospital. I know from pictures that he would sometimes go around DC in his Navy uniform.)
Apparently someone in the National Guard chain of command had the opposite outlook from ICE, and decided to ramp-down the "aggressiveness" of their presence. Nothing about these young troopers resembled what we see on the news from ICE raids. But anything can happen, as you warn and say.
I can't resist sharing that one of my PhD students invited me to the ceremony at the Pentagon for her promotion to brigadier general in the Air Force. Again, a very 'normal' experience of the part of the heart of national defense that civilians are allowed to see.
Sadly, as Mr. Fallows and his wife most likely know, Trump and Vance are happy no one is coming to Washington DC. They want to do their damage without others watching. Plus, the monuments on the Mall are not about them, so they are insignificant. The Museums do not celebrate them either, therefore they offer fake histories, exhibits, and art work that is not valued, understood, or appreciated by either the President, VP, or his Make America Grim Again crowd.
Like Israel, the United States is becoming a pariah.
You are so lucky to live in the DC area. I miss it. You walked a long way - but one of my favorite routes. I walked the Mall the afternoon of 9-11. It looked about as abandoned that afternoon.
Extinguishing an undesirable activity, in behavioral psychology, is best done by absolutely not responding. Is it possible for cities or neighborhoods to ‘go dark’ when the undesirables come in?
Before retiring, over a 20 year period I had many business trips to DC for various news media clients, and I always enjoyed the challenge and being in DC generally. A memorable personal trip was in December 1995. My 12-year-old daughter was selected to represent her school and to deliver for display at the White House a Christmas ornament she made. After our White House tour we had dinner at a nearby restaurant and saw Jody Powell at the bar as well as Secret Service agents. Assuming that Jimmy Carter might arrive we asked Powell if we could get a photo of our daughters with Mr. Carter, and he nodded yes. (It turned out they had a dinner to celebrate progress in eradicating the African Guinea worm.) When Carter marched into the restaurant with his entourage he paused for about 3 seconds with his trademark smile, and we got a wonderful heirloom photo. All of which to say: Washington DC is a magnificent city and evokes feelings of awe, pride, hope, historical understanding, and at times joy among citizens and those who aspire to be.
The deserted National Mall is a fitting symbol of Trump's demented rule. The term "Killjoy" should be carved into his long-awaited tombstone, as well as those of the other sadists and power worshippers in his administration. Or for Trump: Maybe "American Caligula" is a better description.
Thanks rings true for how Jimmy Carter comported himself through his long life.
Shocked, Jim, shocked - I recall August in DC as a hellhole of heat and humidity - and here you say it's pleasant and lovely. Hail the blessings Trump has brought us! /s
The contrast with the lines of troops in the initial photos, looking like an invasion in force, vs now, having just a couple of humvees, is pretty dramatic. Of course, you as old harmless white guy could walk up and ask questions - if you were a younger and a different color, such casual interviews may not have gone so well.
I suspect this, after the failure in California, is also a bust. These were supposed to trigger wild anti-protests that would justify the Insurrection Act and Martial Law. When California fought back legally, they now target DC, which has no governor to get in the way. But it's a failure too - what if they had a war and nobody came? (Exhibit A - your photos!)
So it's on to Chicago, I hear. There was war in the streets in '68, which I'm sure Trump remembers, since he seems to have stopped learning anything after the '70s. Maybe he expects that will finally get him the rebellion he wants to be seen crushing.
I fear these are some version of the Shock Doctrine, where we are being hit with slashed government, bullied universities, irrational tariffs, erratic foreign policy, all at once early on, ginning up a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt - and then they'll back off, so come election time next year, they can say - "Hey, it's not so bad NOW, is it?" and talk a shell shocked population with fear of even more change into voting to keep the incumbents in power as "stability" - "you don't want even MORE change, do you?"
Trump is too addled to think this through, but somebody is on this behind the scenes. We need a good press to ferret it out. Got any ideas about that, Jim?
Very good points. Including about why the troops might have been more polite to the two of us than to people younger and darker.
Thank you for this! The map of where Ice HS & national guard are posted doesn't show any place where white people live, nor crime for crying out loud.
OMG! I have never seen photos like this of the Mall in DC. When visiting my daughter at Georgetown and American University, then married with children, I always took a few days to visit different museums, historical spots, and other places new to me. It was always full of traffic, both foot, autos, demonstrations and marches witch I attended including Clinton's inauguration.
I have never been afraid in DC, neither was my daughter although sometimes she should have been.
This is ghostly and gastley. This monster has ruined my 82 year old emotional life.
Thank you. Deb and I were stunned when we looked down the Reflecting Pool, toward the Monument and Capitol, from the Lincoln Memorial. For reasons you understand.
I reposted a wonderful picture of the Statue of Liberty in front of the French embassy clad in an Ukrainian flag these days. Two relatives asked me with great worry: Are you in Washington? (We're all in Germany). DT is changing the land the world dreamt about into the land of nightmares.
Thank you. It's a time of deep, well-grounded fear for the people ICE is rounding up, and of rhetorical, manufactured fear that is damaging the whole area.
I grew up in the D.C. suburbs, and love our beautiful Washington, DC. I'm sickened every morning as soon as I'm conscious of what's happening to our country. I just want marching orders. First on my list, of course, is electing Abigail Spanberger as Governor of Virginia. More elections are next year, of course, but I'm very worried how much more democracy will deteriorate by then.
The Virginia election really matters, as you know.
Jim
How sad in our nation’s Capitol on a lovely day that there are so few tourists. Trump’s phony ‘crime disaster’ and bludgeoning D. C. With National Guard and FBI ‘security patrols’ are further examples of his cockimamie actions and the negative impacts on Americans and tourists.
My most rightening D C. Experience was on January 20, 1961. This was the Inauguration Day for JFK. Because of a snow storm I was trapped at the State Department and volunteered to be Duty Officer in our top secret/codeword COMINT Department.
Suddenly the top secret red phone didn’t work. Then I looked outside and saw tank carriers traversing a major highway. Having spent years in Nasser’s military government, for a moment I thought OH MY GUARD, IS IT HAPPENING HERE [This was 1961 NOT 2025 and #47.]
Swiftly not to worry, the tank carriers were being used to remove cars stalled on the inauguration route. The only Inauguration Day serious problem was that, with the bright glare off the snow, Robert Frost was unable to ready his inauguration prayer. He repeated another prayer from memory while JFK said ‘Don’t ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’
As I mentioned, this was a looong time ago.
Hope you don’t encounter any masked guys with guns. [Remember, they are purportedly there to protect you, unless they ‘disappear’ you.]
P. S. Still after11 days no internet in our Long Island house. A long, sad story. Optimum is the misnomer for our cable country. Perhaps next Tuesday? I’m writing from a friend’s house.
Wow. (I remember watching Robert Frost, on a grainy black and white tv, in our grade school in Calif.)
Good luck with the internet!
I too remember as a junior in HS on a B&W TV. I was thrilled! My parents not. They liked "tricky DIck".
Mine too.
A potential upside: Trump’s attempt at provocation has backfired. He wanted a replay of the summer of 2020 and got a collective shoulder shrug instead. If all he has to retaliate against is indifference it’ll make every further crackdown look that much more unhinged and unreal. There’s plenty of non-MAGA Trump support out there that will evaporate once they’ve had to put up with too much of his BS.
I agree on the fundamental backfiring politics.
The challenge, as you understand, is getting to a point where this plummeting-support can register in actual elections. In "regular" circumstances, Trump would be positioned for historic mid-term losses 14 months from now. Between gerrymandering and other election-logistics questions, it all comes down to actually having a regular, more-or-less representative election next year.
As a Texan, I'm hoping with all my heart that the backfire is loud enough to be heard here.
Thanks for this, Jim and Deb. Your time was well spent and your efforts are appreciated. Your photomontage is strangely depressing even though it was obviously a gorgeous summer day, and your ad hoc interviews illuminate the absurdity of the deployment of these resources as yet another form of security theater...
... though I did note that you apparently did NOT see elements of ICE or other entities roaming these public venues to profile potential 'targets'... and I did see posts by Kevin Kruse and others showing DC Police confronting folks sitting at bus stops and others by critics of the WH saying that there were protests here and there with a few photos to boot.
On the other hand, I was pleased to NOT see *any* reports of hardcore MAGA supporters making theatrical displays of wandering in the open spaces while offering snide comments about how "safe" it seemed. Maybe they are embarrassed by Trump and Stephen Miller, too... or maybe the ordinary folks in that world are beginning to see the implications of their choices on their own lives back home?
Ed, thank you. Yes, the absence of demonstrative MAGA-ism was also notable. I don't think I saw even one person wearing a "red hat," anywhere.
Again, some counterpoint (though heartwarming...):
h/t https://bsky.app/profile/theauthorguy.bsky.social/post/3lx5vcqdync2p
Solidarity!
I had not seen that. thank you.
Good article; thanks.
Thank you John
Thanks, James and Deb. It's trump's mind, psyche, body that is the "hellhole" America, OUR America 😢💔
Thank you Susan.
chilling, James, and a story we won't get from corporate media. but maybe this was always the goal: to empty the streets. Hitler's own paintings were empty landscapes, not Nuremberg rallies. the last thing they want is people amiably sharing our public spaces, enjoying ourr beautiful cities. I hope to hell we'll see more coverage of this, people need to know and understand.
Thank you. I had not thought of that landscape parallel.
My hypothesis is that the GOP in general has it in for "Democrat-run cities," because of the kind of people who live there and the way they vote.
I must admit, as someone who has lived off and on in the DC area for more than 15 years over the past 40, I would have cherished a beautiful summer day on the Mall without the mobs of tourists. But it pains me to know the cause of this absence.
For family reasons my wife and I no longer live in the DC area. We are in Boston now. But we are Washingtonians in spirit. We miss it. (The picture for my account on this site is from the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria.) Even the normal ubiquitous military presence is fine. The military folks are just people you see on the Metro, in their cars, walking to their offices, and living as your neighbors.
I'm glad the presence of the NG troops is not an overwhelming show of force. But I fear what may ultimately happen if the next move is from the NG to regular military forces.
Thanks. And yes, I agree: "Normal" life in DC includes regular presence of all kinds of military people, in uniform and out. After all, there's a "Pentagon" stop on the Metro! And a million other reminders, as you're aware, that national defense is a major part of the business and culture of DC. (As I mentioned in another post, my first experience in DC, as a two-year-old, was when my dad, as a Navy doctor, was assigned to the then-Bethesda Naval Hospital. I know from pictures that he would sometimes go around DC in his Navy uniform.)
Apparently someone in the National Guard chain of command had the opposite outlook from ICE, and decided to ramp-down the "aggressiveness" of their presence. Nothing about these young troopers resembled what we see on the news from ICE raids. But anything can happen, as you warn and say.
I can't resist sharing that one of my PhD students invited me to the ceremony at the Pentagon for her promotion to brigadier general in the Air Force. Again, a very 'normal' experience of the part of the heart of national defense that civilians are allowed to see.