Yet another Democratic official got awkwardly stuck in the background as President Donald Trump flamed his predecessor in an Oval Office news conference.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser appeared next to Trump at the White House on Monday as the president announced that the 2027 NFL Draft would be held at the National Mall.
“Not only are these announcements great for the NFL, but they also advance a mission of making Washington, D.C. safe and clean and beautiful, and we’re working very closely with the mayor,” Trump said. “There’s a good relationship we have going with Muriel. So I want to thank you very much.”
Bowser was all smiles as she took the podium to speak briefly about the NFL announcement.
“We are delighted to be here with the Washington Commanders, the NFL, and the president to talk about this very exciting announcement for Washington, D.C.,” she said. “We believe in investing in sports because they have helped us transform neighborhoods.”
Things took a turn, however, when Trump began taking questions from the media.
As the president addressed a question about a newly announced self-deportation program—taking a swipe at former President Joe Biden and accusing immigrants of crimes—Bowser appeared visibly uncomfortable on the sidelines.
The mayor’s gaze flitted all over the room, and she occasionally pursed her lips as Trump went on a lengthy rant about immigrants whom he branded murderers, drug dealers, and terrorists.
“We have millions of people that have come into this country illegally through an administration that didn’t know what they were doing,” Trump said. “They didn’t have a clue, and now we find out officially, they didn’t because the president was incompetent. But I could have told you that before.”
It’s a scene that Democrats have witnessed before.
Just last month, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer got ripped apart by her own party for getting “absolutely played” by Trump.
Like Bowser, Whitmer appeared nervous as she stood on the sidelines of the Oval Office while Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, including one that targeted a former Homeland Security official who defended the integrity of the 2020 election.
“Whitmer hurt her candidacy today,” a Democratic operative told NBC News at the time. “She looked and sounded nervous in the Oval Office. That visual will stick. So will the image of Trump praising her as he signed executive orders targeting his critics.”
The governor got dragged into another awkward photo-op with Trump earlier this month, but she defended the appearances as putting “service above self.”
“It doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned any of my values. It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to stand my ground,” Whitmer told Pod Save America. “One of the things that I’ve learned is I’ve got to put the people in Michigan first over my self-interest, over maybe what people assume are going to be my political interests.”
