Democrate Responds

FL) has stoked tensions by blaming President Donald Trump for the death of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C., arguing his deployment of military personnel to U.S. cities created unnecessary risks

In an interview with CNN host Sara Sidner, Wasserman Schultz said Trump “should blame himself” for policies that put troops “in harm’s way,” following Wednesday’s ambush-style shooting that left two members of the D.C. National Guard dead.

The victims, identified as Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, were gunned down near the White House in an attack authorities said was carried out by an Afghan national.

The president looks everywhere except inward to blame his own policies,” Wasserman Schultz said. “We need to make sure we don’t have our military deployed in our cities handling law enforcement responsibilities.”

The Florida Democrat, who once chaired the Democratic National Committee, suggested that Trump’s “crackdown” on crime through the deployment of National Guard units had made the capital a target.

“This begs the question,” she told CNN, “would an individual have flown across the country to target law enforcement officers in Washington, D.C.? The answer is likely no. So why wasn’t the president’s first thought, ‘Maybe I should reconsider deploying military troops in the nation’s capital?’”

Trump announced the surge of federal personnel earlier this year, citing rising crime and strained police resources in major cities. The move followed violent protests and years of what Trump called “lawlessness and decay” under Democratic leadership.