US President Donald Trump visited the police and the National Guard in Washington on Thursday. Contrary to an earlier announcement, he did not take part in patrolling the streets of the capital. He stated that he is considering sending guardsmen to other American cities as well.
Contrary to his earlier announcement, Trump did not go on a street patrol, but instead met with law enforcement officers and federal agency employees at a police facility in the southeastern part of the capital. He thanked them for their service and treated them to burgers and pizza. He did not rule out that the next city to which he might send the National Guard could be Memphis.
The President boasted that thanks to the measures he had taken, crime in the US capital was declining. “We have amazing results, it is like a different place. It’s like a different city. This is the capital. It will be the best in the world,” said the President, who last week took control of Washington’s police and deployed the National Guard to the streets, arguing it was necessary in the fight against crime. Trump accused the Democrat-run city of presenting false crime statistics. According to media reports, after meeting with police officers and soldiers, Trump returned to the White House. Earlier on Thursday, in an interview, he announced that in the evening he would patrol the city streets together with the police and the military.
A source told CNN that Trump’s announcement surprised Secret Service agents from the Washington field office, who would have had to secure his movements around the city. On Thursday, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser assured that the number of violent crimes had already begun to decline before Trump’s administration took action. She stated that crime levels in the capital have been falling for two years.
Bowser added that the order issued by US Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding cooperation between the District of Columbia Police and federal officers “focuses almost exclusively on enforcing immigration laws and enforcing regulations on homeless encampments,” rather than combating crime. “So you can draw your own conclusions,” she said.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced that services had dismantled all 72 homeless encampments located on federally managed parkland in the capital. The removal of tents in other areas is ongoing.