President Donald Trump said he will meet with Janeese Lewis George, the Democratic nominee for D.C. mayor, but will not let D.C. “be destroyed by a Communist adherent” in a social media post.
The president made other claims about Lewis George in the post, saying she is opposed to ICE, wants to make D.C. a sanctuary city and resists the crackdown on crime. He also claimed she wants to defund police and expand cashless bail.
Lewis George responded with an official statement Sunday saying that while most of the claims Trump made were incorrect in the post, “the fact is that the Mayor of our nation’s capital and the Administration are going to be meeting with each other.”
“I’m willing to work with anyone, including the Administration, to improve the lives of DC residents, and I will stand up to anyone who puts our city or its residents in harm’s way,” Lewis George said in the statement. “Making DC safe and more affordable for our residents is my immediate focus.”
Lewis George’s campaign manager sent a statement to News4 on Sunday as well.
“Collaboration with the president and Congress is very important to our city,” campaign manager Tommy Wells said. “I am confident we can find common ground for continuing to make DC a vibrant successful city we can all be proud of for the next 250 years.”
In an interview with News4’s Mark Segraves, Lewis George said she believes the Bowser administration has not pushed back strongly enough against federal intrusion and emphasized that she would prioritize building and leveraging stronger relationships with Congress.
“This is absolutely a change election and I’m excited to bring the change that people want, which is really putting people first in the city and having the moral clarity and courage to stand up to Trump,” Lewis George said, according to an article by The Associated Press.
Trump has strongly opposed Lewis George’s stances in the past and said, “In the end, it will never work out, nor will I let it even have a chance” in the social media post.
Earlier this month, Trump threatened D.C. home rule if Lewis George were to win the Democratic primary.
“Well, I wouldn’t like it, and maybe we’d take back Washington and run it on the federal basis,” Trump said. “We won’t put up with it. We’re not going to lose our businesses. By the way, Washington, now, is a safe, beautiful place.”
“We are not going to get ICE off our streets by fearing the president, and we are not going to be able to stand up for our autonomy and fight for D.C. statehood, ultimately, by just complying in advance,” Lewis George responded in a statement.
On June 18, Lewis George won the Democratic primary for D.C. mayor, the NBC News decision desk projected, after former Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie conceded.
“The reality is that the people of D.C. vote for the mayor of D.C. and the president threatening home rule because he doesn’t like how residents may vote, to me is an attack on democracy itself,” she said in an interview with News4’s Joseph Olmo earlier in June.
Lewis George also said that to her, D.C. has always been a sanctuary city and made it clear that it was important to her to follow the Sanctuary Values Act.