President Donald Trump was confronted by chanting protesters Tuesday night as he attended a private dinner at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab in Washington, D.C.
As Trump and his security detail made their way to a table, at least three protesters stood and began shouting, with video from the scene capturing chants of “Trump, you are not welcome here” and “free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time.” The demonstrators displayed Palestinian flags and banners before being escorted from the restaurant by security. Some patrons who had cheered at the president’s arrival called back in his defense.
Trump was dining with Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other aides when the disturbance occurred. Video shows Trump gesturing to his security detail, saying, “Come on, lets go, get them outta here,” as the protesters approached his table. One of the demonstrators, while being led away, shouted that the president was “terrorizing communities all over the world, from Puerto Rico… from Palestine… to Venezuela.”
The demonstrators continued chanting outside the restaurant and invoked the president’s federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. The group Code Pink, which describes itself as a grassroots antiwar organization, said it organized the protest.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump told reporters outside the restaurant that he was “not thrilled” by an Israeli airstrike that targeted Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar, saying, “We want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about how that went down today.” When asked if he was surprised by Israel’s actions, he added, “I’m never surprised by anything, especially when it comes to the Middle East.”
On his social media platform, Trump said he had “immediately directed Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform the Qataris of the impending attack,” adding that the warning arrived “unfortunately, too late to stop the attack.” The president characterized Qatar as a “strong ally and friend of the U.S.” in the post.
The episode came as Israel expanded military operations in Gaza City, issuing evacuation orders for residents across multiple neighborhoods. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that Gaza’s coastline is overcrowded with makeshift shelters and that newly displaced families have been forced to sleep dangerously close to the water’s edge.
Restaurant staff and Secret Service personnel removed the protesters without reported injuries, and the dinner continued. The incident underscored the continuing public protests tied to the war in Gaza and broader opposition activities in the United States over the administration’s policies and actions abroad.