Hillary Clinton has stepped into the debate over President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., and her comments are drawing fire. Instead of addressing the surge in lawlessness that has plagued the capital, the former first lady chose to take a swipe at Republicans’ masculinity.
Her post on X ridiculed GOP officials as “whiny crybabies” who supposedly fear the streets of D.C. and New York City that “literal schoolchildren navigate every day without incident.” The move was quickly criticized as tone-deaf, given the recent string of high-profile violent crimes in those very cities.
Clinton’s comments also followed Democrat operative Sawyer Hackett mocking Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old former DOGE staffer, who had defended a woman during an attempted carjacking earlier this month. Photos showed Coristine bloodied and bruised after the attack, and police later confirmed suspects had been arrested. But that didn’t stop Hackett from sneering at him as an “incel nicknamed Big Balls” who supposedly got beaten by “a pack of unarmed preteens.”
This line of attack, focusing on mocking men rather than addressing the crime problem, struck many as part of a coordinated strategy. And it’s one that risks backfiring. Clinton, who posted her remarks from behind her security detail and even locked replies to avoid criticism, has long had the privilege of protection that ordinary residents and tourists in cities like D.C. and New York simply don’t enjoy.
The hypocrisy is hard to miss. While Clinton mocks others for being concerned about public safety, residents live with the consequences of soft-on-crime policies that Democrats have championed. Just weeks ago, Rep. Ron Estes’s intern, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, was murdered in New York—a stark reminder that these cities are not the “safe spaces” Democrats claim.
Critics also point out Clinton’s long history of supporting strict gun control measures that prevent law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves. That stance, combined with her latest remarks, fuels the perception that Democrat elites would rather shame concerned citizens than acknowledge the failures of their policies.
For Republicans, the controversy plays directly into Trump’s message: restoring safety and order to the nation’s capital. Trump’s decision to federalize law enforcement in D.C. has been blasted by Democrats as heavy-handed, but polls show voters increasingly view crime as a top issue. Every time Democrats mock safety concerns, they risk driving more voters toward Trump’s law-and-order stance.
The episode highlights a growing divide between how elites view urban crime and how average Americans experience it. Clinton’s attempt to belittle Republicans for being “afraid” of D.C. may have pleased her base, but for millions who worry about walking city streets at night, it came across as detached and dismissive.
In the end, her jab may have done Republicans a favor—reminding voters that while Democrats mock, Trump is the one acting. If Clinton’s strategy is to attack masculinity instead of addressing violence, it’s a risky play in a country that has already grown weary of rising crime rates and political doublespeak.