The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith is being ridiculed and mocked on social media after she appeared to not understand a question from the media about the department's "chain of command" amid President Donald Trump's recent federalization of the department.
"Can you tell us what the chain of command is now?" a reporter was heard asking Smith during a press conference Tuesday morning.
"What does that mean?" the police chief responded.
"Well, is it Pam Bondi speaking to the mayor? Is it you? How does this work?" the reporter continued, before Bowser stepped in to explain the department's chain of command following Trump invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act last 11 August, which allows the president to assume emergency control of the capital's police force.
The exchange came amid Bowser's brief press conference last 12 August following her meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
"Our organizational chart, how we do business, how we fund the police, none of that has changed," Bowser explained, adding that Bondi is working as Trump's "proxy" under the federalization order and that the pair are in close communication.
"We have more police, and we want to make sure we use them," she added.
The exchange of Smith appearing to not understand the reporter's question on the department's "chain of command" sparked mockery and backlash online.
"This is who is in charge of the police in D.c..." popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted of the exchange.
"This is why DEI is a disease," National Co-Chair of the RNC Youth Advisory Council CJ Pearson posted to X in response to the exchange.
Smith previously served as the department's first chief equity officer, where she "led the department's efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion," according to her biography.
"WTF! The DC Police Chief doesn’t even know what Chain of Command means," another conservative X account posted in response.
President Trump federalized the D.C. police department following a spate of high-profile attacks and killings in the city in recent weeks, including the fatal shooting of a congressional intern in June, the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy staffers in May, and a brutal attack on a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer earlier in August.