President Trump on Thursday visited federal law enforcement at a U.S. Park Police operations center in Anacostia amid his crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C, touting what he described as significant changes to the nation’s capital.
Trump spoke to hundreds of federal law enforcement officers, including those from the FBI, ATF, DEA, National Guard, U.S. Marshal Service, the Secret Service, the Metropolitan Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“It’s like a different place, different city,” Trump said of D.C.
“Now, I think right now it’s better than it has been in years and in a couple weeks, it’s going to be far better,” he said.
Trump was flanked by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Attorney General Pam Bondi, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche, among others.
“It will look like Augusta,” Trump said, referring to the famous golf course in Georgia that hosts The Masters. “We’re going to be redoing all of your parks. And it’s going to happen fast. It’s going to go up like a miracle.”
The president said that D.C. will be “maxed out in terms of beauty.”
Trump had suggested earlier Thursday that he would be going out with into D.C. with police and military to do “a job.” His motorcade left the White House around 5 p.m. Thursday to visit the operations center in Anacostia, then returned to the White House just after 6 p.m.
“I’m going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police and with the military, of course. So we’re going to do a job,” Trump told conservative radio host Todd Starnes on his show. “The National Guard is great. They’ve done a fantastic job.”
Trump’s crackdown on crime in D.C. began on Aug. 11 when he first announced a takeover of MPD and surged federal law enforcement to patrol the city. Since then, 630 arrests have been made, according to data from the White House.
Of those arrests, over 250 were illegal immigrants, as the White House added Immigration and Customs Enforcement to its patrolling efforts.
The president vowed on Thursday to have the federal law enforcement stay in D.C. for a while, and suggested that he will ask Congress for funding to spruce up the city.
“We’re going back to Congress for some money and we’re going to redo a lot of the pavement, a lot of the medians, a lot of the graffiti is going to come down,” he said.
“We’re going to the go on to other places. We’re going to stay here for a while,” the president added.
He brought with him on the visit hamburgers, prepared by the White House and in blue bags, and pizzas, from local restaurant Wiseguys in dozens of pizza boxes. Noem and Pirro were spotted handing them out to officers while Trump chatted with members of the group before leaving after 45 minutes.
As of Wednesday night, over 2,000 federal agents participated in law enforcement efforts in D.C.
While Trump’s motorcade drove through the streets of D.C. to and from the White House, The Hill, as part of the White House press pool Thursday, spotted crowds of people gathered, National Guard troops saluted and some on the street gave the motorcade a thumbs down or yelled “free D.C.”
At the facility, federal law enforcement appeared excited for the president’s arrival and took photographs of him when he arrived. Bondi said that many have been asking her when they would get to meet Trump.
“I’m getting to know everyone on a first name basis,” Bondi said. “They’re out here working midnights every night.”
A survey from The Washington Post this week found 69 percent of D.C. residents said they “strongly” oppose the president’s decision to take federal control over the Metropolitan Police Department, and 10 percent said they “somewhat” oppose the move. Another 9 percent said they “strongly” approve of the Trump administration’s federalization of local police.
