President Trump on Tuesday dined at a downtown Washington, D.C., restaurant with several Cabinet members to demonstrate what he called a dramatic improvement in public safety in the nation's capital.
The outing to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, about a block from the White House, was the first time the president has eaten out in the district since the start of his second term. Trump, accompanied by Vice President J.D. Vance, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, told reporters outside the restaurant that the city had gone from "a very unsafe place" to one with "virtually no crime." "The outcome is really spectacular," he said.
Trump said he would not have gone out to dinner in the district a year or several months ago and urged residents to "go out" and patronize restaurants that he said are now "booming." He thanked the National Guard and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for cooperating with his administration's safety initiative.
As Trump arrived, he was met with both applause and jeers from bystanders. Several protesters inside the restaurant chanted "Free D.C.! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!" and displayed small Palestinian flags; law enforcement officers escorted the women out of the establishment. Trump did not appear to be visibly affected by the disturbance as he proceeded to his table.
The dinner followed an exchange in the Oval Office last week in which a reporter pressed Trump on his lack of outings to local restaurants during both of his previous terms in office. "Do you want me to prove you wrong?" Trump responded at the time, adding that he liked White House food but could consider going out more if it was safe.
Before entering Joe’s, the president also teased an imminent announcement on the next city where he plans to deploy the National Guard to assist local authorities. He said the administration was working with a state governor and a city mayor who had welcomed the assistance and that an announcement would come "probably tomorrow." Trump has previously suggested sending federal troops or the National Guard to cities including Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans to help counteract rising crime rates.
The outing is part of a broader law-and-order message that has been central to Trump’s domestic agenda, particularly as he emphasizes public safety gains ahead of upcoming political contests. Administration officials have pointed to increased National Guard presence and cooperative arrangements with local officials as contributing factors to declines in certain categories of violent crime in parts of the city, though independent crime data and analyses vary by neighborhood and time period.
Local leaders and civil liberties advocates have at times expressed concern about the use of federal forces in municipal policing, saying such moves must be carefully coordinated and subject to legal oversight. City officials, including Bowser, have publicly cooperated on some aspects of the security effort in Washington while also asserting the need for local control over policing and public-safety strategies.
Trump’s public dinner in the capital, and his remarks about further National Guard deployments, are likely to draw continued scrutiny from lawmakers, law enforcement officials and community groups as the administration moves forward with its public-safety initiatives.