After an exclusive interview with President Donald Trump, the Daily Caller News Foundation reports that he is considering reopening insane asylums to house individuals with severe mental illness living on America’s streets in order to decrease crime.
Reporter and White House Correspondent Reagan Reese spoke with Trump for an hour in the Oval Office about his recent efforts to clean up Washington, D.C. During the discussion, the issue of asylums for those with mental illnesses arose. Trump said he would be open to restoring government-run asylums, referencing how such facilities once operated in New York.
When Reese asked if he would support reopening asylums, Trump responded, “Yeah I would.”
He elaborated, saying, “Well, they used to have them, and you never saw people like we had, you know, they used to have them. And what happened is states like New York and California that had them, New York had a lot of them. They released them all into society because they couldn’t afford it. You know, it’s massively expensive.
But we had, they were all over New York. I remember when I was growing up, Creedmoor. They had a place, Creedmoor, they had a lot of them, Bellevue, and they were closed by a certain governor. And I remember when they did, it was a long time ago, and I said they didn’t release these people? And they did. They released them into society, and that’s what you have. It’s a rough, it’s a rough situation.”
Later in the interview, Trump asked Reese why the issue was being raised, to which she explained her own safety concerns, including a recent experience in Virginia. Trump replied, “Because, you can’t have these people walking around. So dangerous, so dangerous. And they can live to be 85 years old.”
Trump also discussed his D.C. crackdown, describing how federal law enforcement and the National Guard were deployed on Aug. 7 as part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force. Days later, he federalized the D.C. police and expanded the National Guard’s role.
Trump said the operation was effective, remarking, “So safe. Yeah, I call it a crime free zone because we don’t play games. You know, I said they spit, we hit.”
According to the White House, as of August 29, authorities had made 1,369 arrests since the operation began. Officials told the Daily Caller that many of those taken into custody were illegal immigrants, including 12 gang members associated with MS-13 and TDA. The effort has also resulted in the recovery of five missing children and the clearing of 50 homeless encampments, adds the Daily Caller.
