India, Aug. 11 -- US President Donald Trump came through on one half of his threat of a federal takeover of Democratic-ruled cities - Washington and New York. He invoked the Home Rule Act to bring the Washington DC police department under direct central control.

The DC move came just weeks after Trump said at a cabinet meeting that his administration would seize control of New York City, too, if the Democratic Party's mayoral candidate, Indian-origin Zohran Mamdani, was elected in the November polls.

Trump has pejoratively called Mamdani a "communist", while Mamdani, whose poll pitch is based on welfare and service subsidies, calls himself "a democratic socialist" and has Trump attacks him because of his race and religion.

On DC, Trump...