US President Donald Trump visited a command centre in Washington on Thursday to meet law enforcement officers involved in his citywide crime crackdown, reinforcing his law-and-order agenda.
Addressing several hundred uniformed personnel gathered at the US Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility, which oversees law enforcement operations in southeast Washington, Trump praised the work of officers in the city.
“The crime numbers are way down… I just wanted to thank you — you’er doing incredible. You’re incredible people. You make the country run,” he said.
Trump justified the crackdown in Washington as producing “incredible results,” predicting the capital would soon be “spotless” and the “best in the world.”
“We’re going to do what you’re doing with law enforcement, and very importantly, also, we’re going to physically do it,” he said, outlining plans to resurface city roadways and plant new grass in parks.
“It’s like a different place. Everybody is safe now,” he added.
Trump also promised sweeping improvements, stating, “We’re going to have the best capital ever.”
TRUMP BRINGS HAMBURGERS, PIZZA FOR NATIONAL GUARD
Trump said he brought hamburgers from the White House and pizza “from a good place” that wasn’t the White House. He said he’d eat with the troops and law enforcement personnel before they resumed their patrols.
“We’re going to celebrate, and then we’re going to get back to work,” Trump said.
Trump, who last week deployed National Guard soldiers and federal agents to the capital, claimed he was temporarily taking control of the city’s police department in an unprecedented exercise of presidential authority. The president cited a so-called violent crime wave as justification for the move.
However, capital’s officials have rejected Trump’s claims, pointing to federal and statistics that indicate violent crime has actually fallen significantly following a spike in 2023.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser stated that crime has been on a downward trend over the past two years. Speaking to reporters Thursday, she said, “We expect that having 500 additional officers will yield more arrests, and we want guns off the streets. Our police officers continue to do the work, and we expect some incremental difference with more officers.”
VANCE AND HEGSETH MEETS TROOPS AMID PROTESTS
Trump’s visit followed earlier appearances by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who toured Union Station on Wednesday, the city’s central train hub. Their visit was met with protests and heckling from demonstrators.
On Thursday, Trump was accompanied by US Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a key architect of Trump’s migrant crackdown.
According to news agency Reuters, the Trump administration has instructed federal prosecutors in Washington to adopt a more aggressive approach in pursuing criminal cases against those arrested under the citywide crackdown. The move represents an escalation of Trump’s efforts to address what he has described as a surge in crime and homelessness in the capital.
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With inputs from agenices