Trump dines with top brass to flaunt DC safety after crime crackdown: 'You won’t be mugged going home'

Donald Trump said restaurants in Washington, DC are booming, thanked Muriel Bowser and the National Guard, and called the city very safe
PUBLISHED SEP 10, 2025
Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, JD Vance, and Marco Rubio dined at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Washington, DC on September 9, 2025 (Getty Images)
Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, JD Vance, and Marco Rubio dined at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Washington, DC on September 9, 2025 (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump stepped out for a night on the town in Washington, DC, and made sure everyone knew why.

On Tuesday, September 9, the president dined with his top brass at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, an upscale spot just a block from the White House, while boasting about what he called the “spectacular” results of his tough-on-crime crackdown in the capital.

It was the first time Trump had been spotted at a DC restaurant since the start of his second term.

Trump touts crime crackdown as DC becomes 'one of the safest cities'

“We’re standing right in the middle of DC, which, as you know, over the last year was a very unsafe place, over the last 20 years it was very unsafe, and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump declared to reporters outside Joe’s.

“I wouldn’t have done this three months ago, four months ago, I certainly wouldn’t have done it a year ago,” he added. “This was one of the most unsafe cities in the country. Now, it’s as safe as there is in the country.”

Trump urged locals to enjoy their newly safer city as he arrived with Vice President JD Vance, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“We have a safe city, so that’s good. Enjoy yourself. You won’t be mugged going home,” he told diners.

“The restaurants now are booming. People are going out to dinner where they didn’t go out for years,” he said, thanking the National Guard and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser for backing his safety push. “The outcome is really spectacular,” Trump beamed. “We have a capital that’s very, very safe.”

Protesters interrupt Trump’s DC dinner appearance

Of course, not everyone was applauding. Outside the restaurant, the president was met with loud cheers from across the street.

Inside, however, a handful of protesters tried to disrupt Trump’s entrance. “Free DC! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!” they shouted while waving small Palestinian flags.

The women were quickly escorted out by law enforcement.

Trump teases next city to get safety overhaul

The outing came after Trump was pressed in the Oval Office last week over why he hadn’t been dining out in DC. “Do you want me to prove you wrong?” Trump shot back at the reporter.

“I think it’s something we could consider doing. Love to do it,” he added. “I love the White House food, but after a while, I could see going to a nice restaurant. It’s safe.”

Before slipping into Joe’s, Trump also teased that another city is about to get the DC treatment.

“We’re going to, very shortly, be working it out with the governor of a certain state, who would love us to be there, and the mayor of a certain city in that same state, who would love us to be there,” he said. “We’ll announce it probably tomorrow, and it’s going to be something we will do like we did here.”

U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet and administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, arrive for dinner at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on September 09, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump dined away from the White House as his crime emergency order — which included the deployment of National Guard troops and a surge of federal law enforcement officers — comes to a close. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet and administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Vice President JD Vance, arrive for dinner at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on September 09, 2025, in Washington, DC (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Democrats push back as Trump threatens to send troops into US cities

Trump has floated the idea of sending troops to crime-plagued cities like Chicago, Baltimore, and New Orleans. But not everyone is rolling out the red carpet.

“Militarizing the streets of New Orleans is not the solution for our public safety. Period,” Democratic Rep Troy Carter snapped in a letter to Trump.

In Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott isn’t taking the threat lightly. “Depending on what happens, when it happens, if it happens, we’ve looked at what kind of legal actions we could take,” Scott told WYPR. “We’ll just be prepared to do whatever we need to do in that moment.”

That clash followed a nasty back-and-forth on social media between Trump and Maryland Gov Wes Moore, which ended with Trump threatening to unleash troops on Charm City.

Illinois Gov JB Pritzker also pushed back. “When did we become a country where it’s OK for the US president to insist on national television that a state should call him to beg for anything, especially something we don’t want?” Pritzker fumed to reporters last week.    

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 25: Flanked by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (L) and other Illinois politicians and community leaders, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at a news conference to address President Donald Trump's plan to send National Guard troops into the city on August 25, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. Besides Chicago, the president on Friday said he planned to target Baltimore and New York as well for his next federal crackdown on crime following days of federal agents working the streets of Washington with DC Metro Police. Trump today appeared to back off from those threats in remarks to reporters. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Flanked by Illinois Gov JB Pritzker and other Illinois politicians and community leaders, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at a news conference to address President Donald Trump's plan to send National Guard troops into the city on August 25, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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