President Donald Trump said Thursday he would expand the law enforcement and National Guard crackdown he ordered in Washington, DC, this month to other jurisdictions as he appeared at a US Park Police facility to promote the initiative.
“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,” he said to dozens of law enforcement agents and National Guard members gathered outside the facility to hear him speak.
Earlier this month, Trump ordered the federal government to take control of DC’s police department and deployed National Guard troops – a broad federal effort that has drawn the ire of many city residents.
Trump had teased earlier in the day that he planned to join law enforcement in the streets of DC, though he appeared to scrap those plans for a more standard meet-and-greet with those he has deployed. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that some members of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, who would handle a presidential movement like this one, had been caught off guard by the president’s announcement.
“I’m going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police, and with the military, of course,” the president told radio host Todd Starnes earlier Thursday.
Trump would not likely be able to duplicate the DC initiative exactly if he were to try it in other areas of the country. DC, which is not a part of any state, has restrictions on its ability to govern its own affairs, and the president has the ability to effectively federalize its police force. The city also has a far more robust regular federal law enforcement presence than other US cities.
Trump arrived at the US Park Police facility in Southeast Washington, DC, a little after 5:20 p.m. Joining him for the visit were Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Emil Bove, a controversial former Justice Department official who was recently confirmed as a federal appeals court judge, also attended.
Trump spent a little more than a half an hour there, bringing hamburgers from the White House and pizza from Wiseguy Pizza.
“Everybody’s safe now. Everybody feels safe,” Trump said.
His appearance follows another staged event centered on the DC takeover on Wednesday, when Vice President JD Vance visited a Shake Shack at Union Station at lunchtime to thank National Guard members who have been deployed to the city.
During that event, Vance was frequently drowned out by protesters as he appeared alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Miller. Blocked from the second-floor area where the guardsmen lunch was taking place, the protesters loudly chanted “shame,” “this is our city,” and “we want the military out of our streets.”
Trump has repeatedly decried crime in DC, though overall reported crime numbers are lower this year than in 2024, and cast his moves in the city as an effort to make the nation’s capital safer and more beautiful. More than 1,900 National Guard troops from multiple states — including the DC, West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana and Tennessee guards — have been mobilized in DC as of Thursday, according to Joint Task Force-DC.
The campaign also involves clearing homeless encampments. Vance on Thursday declined to say where law enforcement officials are sending people once their tents are cleared, replying that “the question betrays a certain misunderstanding of what we’re trying to do and what is the nature of real compassion.”
He then recounted a story about his family being yelled during a trip to DC years ago, arguing that the administration is focused on keeping those with mental health issues off the streets.
“Why have we convinced ourselves that it’s compassionate to allow a person who’s obviously a schizophrenic, or suffering from some other mental illness, why is it compassionate to let that person fester in the streets?” Vance said.
Vance, who was in Georgia to tout Republicans’ domestic policy law, also demurred when asked if the White House plans to deploy troops to other cities, but he did not rule it out.
“We have focused on Washington, DC, because it’s a federal city under our jurisdiction. But we certainly hope that, whether it’s Atlanta or anywhere else, people are going to look around and say, ‘We don’t have to live like this,’” he said. “We hope that people see what we’re doing in Washington, DC, and follow our example all across the country.”
Among those who live in DC, Trump’s police takeover is unpopular. A 79% majority of DC residents oppose the president ordering the federal government to take control of the city’s police department and ordering the National Guard and FBI to patrol the city, a new Washington Post-Schar School poll finds.
This headline and story have been updated.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
