WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump had dinner Tuesday night at a seafood restaurant near the White House, promoting his deployment of the National Guard and federalizing the police force in an effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.
His motorcade made the short distance to Joe鈥檚 Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on 15th Street in the northwestern quadrant of the city following weeks of the president boasting about mobilizing federal authorities and the military that he says have made Washington 鈥渁 safe zone.鈥
Cheers were heard as the president stepped from his limo 鈥 though there was also a smattering of boos and chants from protesters opposing U.S. policy in support of Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza.
鈥淲e鈥檙e standing right in the middle of D.C., which as you know about, over the last year, was a very unsafe place 鈥 over the last 20 years 鈥 and now it鈥檚 got virtually no crime,鈥 Trump told reporters.
He added that he wouldn鈥檛 have stood out 鈥渋n the middle of the street鈥 as recently as a couple of months ago. The suggestion was farcical, however, and didn’t actually reflect whether crime levels had changed in Washington, since the president is always surrounded by heavy security wherever he goes.
After entering the restaurant, a video posted on social media showed Trump shaking hands with some diners inside. But he also stared for an extended period at a small group of protesters who held up miniature Gaza flags and chanted: 鈥淔ree D.C.! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!鈥
The president moved closer to them and could be seen gesturing briefly, but didn’t appear to speak.
Some restaurants have reported drops in reservations since Trump first announced the federal crackdown on Aug. 7, while there have been frequent street protests decrying his actions. Increased military and police presence also has occasionally between residents and authorities in normally quiet neighborhoods.
Trump has nonetheless said repeatedly that he’s spoken to friends who tell him local restaurants are full and that people have noticed a drop in crime. He says he’s also heard that people appreciate crews working to remove homeless encampments as part of the crackdown.
Accompanying the president for dinner were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff. In his comments before going into dinner, Trump said, 鈥淭he restaurants are booming.鈥
鈥淧eople are going out to dinner where they didn鈥檛 go out for years,鈥 he said.
After Trump returned to the White House after 10 p.m., press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was also among those who dined with Trump, said he had eaten crab, shrimp, salad, steak and dessert.
The excursion was notable since Trump rarely dines away from the White House when he’s in Washington. And such outings have gotten even less common since he sold the hotel bearing his name a few blocks away, which was a key meeting point for administration officials and supporters during his first term.
The White House reported Tuesday that there had been nearly 2,200 arrests since Trump first announced the Washington crackdown on Aug. 7.
In addition to Washington, Trump deployed the National Guard to in June and has threatened to send troops to other, largely Democratic cities, including Baltimore, New Orleans and Chicago 鈥 where state and local authorities already are bracing for operations to sharply increase immigration enforcement.
He said Tuesday night, 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be announcing another city that we鈥檙e going to very shortly,鈥 then said it could be as soon as Wednesday. He added that the mayor of that city and the governor of the state it is in 鈥渨ould love us to be there.鈥
That follows Trump posting over the weekend from 鈥淎pocalypse Now鈥 featuring a ball of flames as helicopters zoom over the lakefront and skyline of Chicago, the nation鈥檚 third-largest city.
鈥溾業 love the smell of deportations in the morning,鈥欌 Trump wrote on his social media site. 鈥淐hicago about to find out why it鈥檚 called the Department of WAR.鈥
In the post, Trump offered no details beyond the label 鈥淐hipocalypse Now,鈥 a play on the title of Francis Ford Coppola鈥檚 1979 Vietnam War film, in which a character says, 鈥淚 love the smell of napalm in the morning.鈥
Last week, Trump signed an seeking to rename the Defense Department as the Department of War 鈥 even after months of campaigning to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. The renaming requires congressional approval.
In his own post in response, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called Trump a 鈥渨annabe dictator.鈥 He has joined state and city officials 鈥 and many Chicago residents 鈥 in decrying the idea of a federal crackdown as unnecessary.
