Weren’t we told that President Donald Trump’s interest in law enforcement in the nation’s capital wouldn’t just be useless, it would be unwelcome?
You could have fooled me. During a detour to a local seafood joint to showcase the city’s recent spike in safety, the president got plenty of cheers from onlookers despite D.C.’s notoriety as the home of the swamp.
“We’re standing right in the middle of D.C., which as you know about, over the last year, was a very unsafe place — over the last 20 years — and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump told reporters during the visit to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on Tuesday, according to The National Desk.
And at least from the looks and sounds of it, the people of D.C. seemed relatively grateful.
As Trump got out of the car — flanked by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defense/War Pete Hegseth — he was greeted by mostly cheers from the crowd:
???? BREAKING: President Trump makes an unexpected appearance with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at Joe’s Seafood, a downtown Washington, D.C. restaurant, to have dinner.
He has never dined out like this before in either one of his terms. pic.twitter.com/vn9eAP5Nkx
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) September 9, 2025
Now, it’s worth noting that the restaurant is right by the White House, and there might have been plenty of staffers and admirers in that crowd, but the point is that there wasn’t a huge scene.
This is a massive turnaround from his first term, where Democrats seemed to take California Rep. Maxine Waters’ advice on the matter:
Here’s Maxine Waters, a Democrat Representative in California, calling on people to harass Trump and his cabinet:
If you see them “in a restaurant, department store, gas station, you get out and create a crowd, you push back on them, tell them they aren’t welcome”
This is what… pic.twitter.com/lvr3dXREd2
— Alex Armstrong (@alexharmstrong) July 14, 2024
And while the National Desk said “there was a mix of boos and chants for the president,” it was difficult to hear those who were against him.
Those who did were mostly inside the restaurant. “Free D.C.! Free Palestine! / Trump is the Hitler of our time!” they chanted. And nobody seemed to care, least of all the president:
???? LMFAO! Palestine protestors were chanting “Trump is the Hitler of our time” right to his face and he totally just stared at them and carried on!
You could see it in their faces – “You don’t care?????”
47 isn’t impacted by these buffoons ????????pic.twitter.com/2xhLgSFQwG
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 10, 2025
Instead, Trump focused on what real diners — not a coven of purple-haired ninnies — cared about.
He told visitors to the restaurant they “won’t be mugged going home” and advised them “don’t drink too much.” Words everyone should be able to hear.
And, according to the National Desk’s report of his visit, more people than ever will be able to. “As Trump spoke to reporters outside of Joe’s, he teased sending the National Guard to another city as soon as Wednesday. He also hinted that both the mayor and the governor of this jurisdiction would comply with the deployment,” the report read.
Well, they have to, if there’s a problem. One thing this experiment has proved is that people like law and order, and that the District of Columbia is a much safer city than it has been in years thanks to his bringing crime back under control, despite Democrat’s demands.
Other politicians have tried to get out ahead of Trump’s deployments for their own ends, but the overriding feeling seems to be that this is a wildly popular agenda item, and it’s best to enjoy the fruits rather than to fight it and incur the wrath of not only the administration but hometown voters, as well. They’ve learned what the crowd on Tuesday proved: America doesn’t listen to the media, it listens to results.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.