Trump faces protesters at DC dinner as federalization effort nears expiration
President Donald Trump attended a rare dinner in Washington, D.C., on the eve of his federalization of the Capitol expiring. The president and cabinet members arrived for dinner at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Snow Crab, where they were also met by protesters outside and inside the restaurant.
As Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived, protesters were outside booing and cursing at the president. Once inside, protesters greeted Trump with chants of “Free D.C., free Palestine. Trump is the Hitler of our time!” from activists.
Trump’s interaction
The incident inside the steak and seafood restaurant was caught on video. It shows Trump approaching the chanting women, grinning and then ordering security to remove them. Security officials escorted the demonstrators out.
Code Pink takes responsibility
Antiwar group Code Pink later claimed responsibility. “CODEPINK activists disrupted Trump, Vance, Hegseth, Rubio and other cabinet members’ dinner,” Code Pink cofounder Medea Benjamin wrote on social media. “They feast while Gaza starves. Trump is the Hitler of our time. Free DC. Free Palestine! Stop terrorizing communities all over the world!!”
Trump promotes DC crime efforts
As he stood outside the restaurant, Trump credited his federalization of D.C. as a victory for his administration.
“We’re standing in the middle of D.C., which, as you know, over the last year was a very unsafe place, over the last 20 years,” Trump told reporters outside the restaurant. “And now it’s got virtually no crime.”
The federalization of D.C. officially expires on Wednesday, and the White House says the 60-day takeover led to 2,177 arrests, 222 gun seizures, and the removal of 50 homeless encampments.
What’s next
Trump also teased an announcement set for Wednesday on the potential federalization of another U.S. city.
“We’re going to be announcing another city that we’re going to very shortly,” Trump said. The president said he is still “working out” plans with the governor and mayor “who would love us to be there. We’ll announce it probably tomorrow, and it’s going to be something we will do like we did here.”
Trump’s appearance comes after question
Trump’s appearance at the restaurant appeared to be in response to a reporter’s question last week, in which he was asked about not eating at restaurants in D.C.
“Do you want me to prove you wrong?” Trump quipped.
While Trump’s federalization of D.C. may be over, Republicans in Congress are already drawing up plans to change laws in the nation’s capital and increase cooperation with federal law enforcement.
On Wednesday, Politico reported that following Trump’s attendance and subsequent protests, Joe’s has seen an influx of one-star reviews and its rating had dropped as a result.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
