President Trump took the streets of Washington, DC Tuesday and dined out with members of his Cabinet as he touted the “spectacular” outcome of his crime crackdown in the nation’s capital.
Trump’s outing to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab – an upscale establishment about a block away from the White House – marks the first time the president has gone out to dinner in the district since the start of his second term.
“We’re standing right in the middle of DC, which, as you know, over the last year was a very unsafe place, over the last 20 years it was very unsafe, and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump told reporters outside the restaurant.
“I wouldn’t have done this three months ago, four months ago, I certainly wouldn’t have done it a year ago,” the president continued. “This was one of the most unsafe cities in the country. Now, it’s as safe as there is in the country.”
Trump, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urged everybody in the district to “go out” and enjoy the city amid the drop in crime.
“The restaurants now are booming. People are going out to dinner where they didn’t go out for years,” the president claimed, thanking the National Guard and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser for working with his team on the safety initiative.
“The outcome is really spectacular,” Trump said. “We have a capital that’s very, very safe.”
The president was greeted outside the restaurant by loud cheers from across the street and a smattering of boos.
Several anti-Trump protesters heckled the president inside the restaurant as he walked to his table.
“Free DC! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!” several women chanted as they unfurled small Palestinian flags.
But the commander in chief appeared unbothered by the disturbance.
The women walked out of the establishment and were led across the street by law enforcement.
The dinner comes after Trump was pressed by a reporter in the Oval Office last week about his lack of outings to DC restaurants during his first and second terms.
“Do you want me to prove you wrong?” Trump shot back.
“I think it’s something we could consider doing. Love to do it,” he added. “I love the White House food, but after a while, I could see going to a nice restaurant. It’s safe.”
Before entering the eatery, Trump teased an announcement coming “probably tomorrow” on the next city he plans to deploy the National Guard to.
“We’re going to, very shortly, be working it out with the governor of a certain state, who would love us to be there, and the mayor of a certain city in that same state, who would love us to be there,” the president said. “We’ll announce it probably tomorrow, and it’s going to be something we will do like we did here.”
Trump has previously floated the idea of sending troops to Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans to assist local authorities in counteracting crime.
