U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, as he makes an announcement on the economy, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 7, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Sunday again signaled that he is ramping up plans to target crime in Washington, D.C., even as data shows that crime rates in the nation’s capital are falling.
He also issued a warning to the city’s homeless population. “The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump’s remarks come as he has increased his rhetoric about countering crime in the District in recent days, after a former member of the Department of Government Efficiency was assaulted in an attempted carjacking.
“It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We went from millions pouring in, to ZERO in the last few months. This will be easier — Be prepared!”
“There will be no “MR. NICE GUY.” We want our Capital BACK,” he said.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order making it easier for cities to remove homeless people, drawing fire from advocates for the homeless. His social media post is the latest sign that he seeks to follow through on this effort, particularly in the nation’s capital.
Trump’s comments about crime in D.C. are at odds with data from the Justice Department that shows violent crime in the city in 2024 was at a 30-year low, and homicides, robberies and armed carjackings have all declined.
Trump also reiterated in his social media post that he plans to hold a press availability at the White House on Monday about crime in D.C.
In a subsequent Truth Social post later on Sunday, he said that the media availability will be Monday at 10 a.m.
He said his remarks will also “be about Cleanliness and the General Physical Renovation and Condition of our once beautiful and well maintained Capital.”
The White House last week announced a seven-day effort to counter crime in the city, including an increased presence of federal law enforcement across the District.
The District has been a frequent target of Trump’s, including during his first term. Still, his language has become more forceful in recent days, sparking ire from Democratic leadership in the city.
“Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said on MSNBC.
“I also just really want to say we always want to get better, and there are ways more than any other city in America that the federal government can help the District of Columbia,” she continued.
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