President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he plans to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., with police and members of the National Guard.
“I’m going to be going out tonight. I’m going to keep it a secret. But I’m going to go, and you’re the only one who knows. You and your lots of listeners,” Trump told radio talk show host Todd Starnes.
“I’m going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police and with the military, of course. We’re going to do a job,” he added. “The National Guard is great. They’ve done a fantastic job.”
???? @POTUS on Making D.C. Safe Again: “I’m going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police and with the military, of course. We’re going to do a job.” pic.twitter.com/lLXkH6jvam
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 21, 2025
Trump will no doubt try to reinforce the message and visuals that Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller communicated during a Wednesday lunch visit to Union Station, where they had a Shake Shack burger lunch with members of the National Guard.
Vice President JD Vance grabs lunch with troops at Shake Shack in Union Station. pic.twitter.com/ZMXBELTRlC
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 20, 2025
“If you look at what’s happened in Washington, D.C., in just the past nine days, we’ve seen a 35 percent reduction in violent crime. We’ve seen over a 50 percent reduction in robberies. We are seeing really substantial effects because these guys are busting their ass,” Vance told reporters at the lunch.
“You can actually bring law and order to communities. You’ve just gotta have to have the political willpower to do it,” he argued.
The D.C. Police Union posted on social media Monday that crime is down significantly since President Donald Trump announced a takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department for at least 30 days.
The post indicated that violent crime was down 22 percent, carjackings 83 percent, and robberies 46 percent.
DC crime since the announcement of federal control versus the 7 days prior:
Robbery ⬇️46%
ADW ⬇️6%
Carjacking ⬇️83%
Car Theft ⬇️21%
Violent Crime ⬇️22%
Property Crime ⬇️6%
All Crimes⬇️8%While federal assistance gives us a boost, we must repeal the misguided Comprehensive…
— DC Police Union (@DCPoliceUnion) August 18, 2025
The Washington Post falsely implied Wednesday that Vance said that the Trump administration wants the D.C. federal law and order push to be a “test case” for what could happen in blue cities across the country.
Vice President JD Vance and other Trump administration officials suggested Wednesday that the federal takeover of policing in D.C. could serve as a test case for other cities across the country. https://t.co/3RwrgzuHHg
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 20, 2025
What Vance said was, “I think that if we set a standard in Washington, D.C., that political willpower can bring some common sense law and order back to these communities, then maybe some other communities in other cities will follow suit.”
In other words, the Trump administration wants to set an example in D.C. that will motivate officials and perhaps create a groundswell among residents in blue cities to act.
Regardless, because D.C. falls under the federal government’s direct jurisdiction, the president has more authority to direct what happens in the city.
There will no doubt be many astroturf, probably paid, protesters out on Thursday night, if they can locate Trump.
Vance said of the protesters at Union Station the day before, “We hear these people outside screaming, ‘Free D.C.’ Let’s free D.C. from lawlessness. Let’s free Washington, D.C., from one of the highest murder rates in the entire world …That’s what we’re trying to free D.C. from.”
When Trump announced the temporary takeover of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department last week, he noted recent high-profile examples of violence in the capital, including the murder of two Israeli embassy staff members in May, a congressional intern shot and killed in June, and a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer brutally beaten earlier this month.
“Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youths, drugged-out maniacs, and homeless people, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore,” he said.
While then-soon-to-be President Teddy Roosevelt was known to walk police beats late at night when he served as New York Police Commissioner in the mid-1890s, to have a sitting president on the beat is almost certainly unprecedented.
Godspeed and stay safe, Mr. President!
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