Washington — President Trump addressed a crowd of federal law enforcement officers in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, amid an anti-crime initiative that has swamped the capital with police and National Guard members.
The president visited a U.S. Park Police facility in Southeast D.C., where he thanked federal agents and handed out hamburgers that he said were prepared at the White House and pizza from a local restaurant.
“You’re incredible people. You make the country run, frankly,” Mr. Trump said.
In brief remarks, Mr. Trump told the crowd the capital city will be “maxxed out in terms of beauty” in the next six to 12 months, listing out plans to clean graffiti, repair park grass and fix road medians. Several other administration officials also addressed the officers, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Some 2,000 Guard personnel from D.C. and several GOP-led states are in the capital, along with a surge of officers from agencies like the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Mr. Trump has also asserted federal control over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, drawing pushback from local politicians who argued the move was a threat to the city’s autonomy. Last week, the Justice Department backed down from an attempt to name an emergency local police chief following a lawsuit from D.C. officials.
Hours earlier, Mr. Trump said he would go out in D.C. to patrol the city alongside law enforcement and the Guard. The president made the announcement as the Metropolitan Police Department tells CBS News no homicides have been reported in the district in over a week.
“I’m going to be going out tonight, I’m going to keep it a secret,” the president joked to radio host Todd Starnes. “I’m going to be out tonight, I think with the police, and with the military, of course. So we’re going to do a job. The National Guard is great. They’ve done a fantastic job.”
The president’s visit came a day after Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller visited National Guard members posted at Union Station.
Since the Trump administration began its initiative, a total of 630 arrests have been made, and 86 illegal guns have been seized, according to Bondi.
Unlike other presidents, Mr. Trump has made few ventures into the district, other than to deliver speeches or, during his first term, to visit his former hotel down Pennsylvania Avenue. Past presidents have occasionally dined at D.C. restaurants.
Mr. Trump has insisted that people he knows feel safer in the city than they have before.
“People that haven’t gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C., in two years are going out to dinner,” Mr. Trump claimed earlier this week.
Local officials say the initiative is unnecessary and Mr. Trump’s claims about safety issues in D.C. are overblown. According to local police data, violent crime in D.C. has been declining for the last year and a half after spiking in 2023. As of Aug. 11, robberies this year are down 28% and overall violent crime is down 26%. Last year, violent crime in the capital city hit its lowest level in more than 30 years, the Justice Department said.
Mr. Trump, however, has called D.C. crime statistics “phony numbers,” and said his administration would “look into that.”
contributed to this report.
