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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump yesterday visited police and troops he sent to Washington, touting his crime crackdown and saying they would “stay here for a while.”
Trump ordered hundreds of members of the Guard, a reserve force, to deploy in Washington DC last week vowing to “take our capital back,” despite protests by some residents and statistics showing violent offenses falling.
“We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while. We want to make this absolutely perfect,” Trump said outside a US Park Police facility in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington DC.
He was surrounded by law enforcement from various local and federal agencies as well as National Guard troops.
Earlier yesterday, Trump had suggested he would go on patrol with police and the military, but instead he made a short speech and gave out pizzas and hamburgers.
“Everybody feels safe,” he said, adding that he plans to get the capital “fixed up physically.”
“One of the things we’re going to be redoing is your parks. I’m very good at grass, because I have a lot of golf courses all over the place. I know more about grass than any human being,” Trump added.
Trump: One of the things we are going to be redoing as your parks. I know more about grass than any human being anywhere in the world. We are going to be regrassing your parks, new sprinklers systems. It will look like Trump national golf club.
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 21, 2025
Grass has a life. You know that?… pic.twitter.com/mggkKBHuAB
He spoke one day after his vice president, JD Vance, was greeted by boos and shouts of “Free DC” on his own meet-and-greet with troops.
Vance dismissed the hecklers as “a bunch of crazy protesters.”
The DC National Guard has mobilized 800 troops, while Republican states Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia are sending a total of around 1,200.
They have been spotted in tourist areas such as the National Mall and its monuments, the Nationals Park baseball stadium and others.
The overwhelmingly Democratic US capital faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged.
But data from Washington DC police showed significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, though that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.
Some residents have welcomed the crackdown, pointing to crime in their areas – but others have complained the show of force is unnecessary, or has not been seen in parts of Washington where violence is concentrated.
Several incidents involving the surge of law enforcement have gone viral as residents voice their discontent, including the arrest of one man who was caught on camera throwing a sandwich at an agent.
Banksy-style posters honoring the so-called “sandwich guy” have popped up around the city.
This sandwich throwing guy has become somewhat of a hero in D.C. pic.twitter.com/dN4QxQmG7L
— Patrick Ruch (@patrick_ruch2) August 14, 2025
The National Guard troops have provided “critical support such as crowd management, presence patrols and perimeter control in support of law enforcement,” according to statements on their official X account.
In addition to sending troops into the streets, Trump has also sought to take full control of the Washington police department, attempting at one point to sideline its leadership.
The deployment of troops in Washington comes after Trump dispatched the National Guard and Marines to quell unrest in Los Angeles, California, that was sparked by immigration enforcement raids.
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