The National Guard mistakenly sent an internal sentiment analysis to a newspaper, showing that most reactions to Trump’s D.C. takeover are adverse and risks widening a rift between troops and civilians.
Internal documents assessing news coverage and social media describe residents’ alarm, being a “wedge between citizens and the military,” according to The Washington Post, which inadvertently received them.
Veterans and troops view the deployment “with shame and alarm,” the documents read.
A Guard official acknowledged the assessment’s authenticity and said it was inadvertently emailed to the Post. It is unclear how many others received it.
The analysis found that social posts about the deployment were 53 percent negative, 45 percent neutral, and 2 percent positive.
It also catalogued troop fatigue and confusion as the mission threatens to stretch beyond a month, with more than 2,300 Guard members activated in the capital.
The Army, which is overseeing the deployment, did not provide a comment to The Post.
Trump insists the surge is needed to cut crime, but D.C. police data showed a decline before his August “emergency” declaration.
Since then, the Guard’s own daily updates have leaned on “beautification” work—mulch spreading, trash pickup, and fence painting—alongside occasional police assists, deepening questions over what, exactly, the soldiers are there to do.
Those questions are now playing out in court. In California, a federal judge ruled the administration’s Los Angeles deployment violated federal law.
The Ninth Circuit has paused that ruling while it reviews the case, allowing about 300 troops to remain. In D.C., the city sued to halt the mission, arguing it was an illegal “federal overreach.”
The documents also reference a separate Trump initiative—a standing National Guard “quick reaction force” (QRF) for civil unrest nationwide.
Planning documents reported last month by The Washington Post described hundreds of Guard troops on an hour’s deployment notice, and the White House later trumpeted an order directing the Pentagon to ensure a QRF is available.
Civil-military scholars have warned that politically motivated domestic call-ups risk long-term damage to public trust—and recruitment.
Yet the mulch keeps piling up. As one expert told the Post, the mission appears to be a misuse of military training rather than a cure for D.C. crime.
The Daily Beast has contacted the National Guard, the Army, and the White House for comment.
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