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Trump delivers pizza to National Guard working on his DC crackdown

President Trump speaks with members of law enforcement and National Guard soldiers on Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin
/
AP
President Trump speaks with members of law enforcement and National Guard soldiers on Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington.

Updated August 21, 2025 at 6:26 PM EDT

President Trump on Thursday delivered pizza and hamburgers to a group of police and National Guard forces that he has charged with a high-profile push against what he has described as rampant crime and homelessness in Washington, D.C.

Trump had earlier suggested he would be going out on patrol. "I'm going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police, and with the military, of course. So we're going to do a job," Trump told The Todd Starnes Show.

But instead, it was a quick trip to an operations center for the U.S. Park Police on the Anacostia River. Carrying a handheld mic, Trump thanked law enforcement for their work.

President Trump visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on August 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images North America
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Getty Images North America
President Trump visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on August 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.

"I feel very safe now, and I'm hearing people are very safe, but I know within two weeks ... it's going to be at a level that's even far superior," Trump said.

Trump earlier this month sought to use emergency powers to take control of the Metropolitan Police Department. He deployed National Guard soldiers and seconded hundreds of federal law enforcement officials to the capital. The White House has said more than 600 people have been arrested on a range of charges and dozens of homeless encampments have been cleared.

The crackdown has been criticized as over the top by the city's mayor and other officials. Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were booed by protesters during a photo op with National Guard members at Union Station on Wednesday.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Franco Ordoñez is a White House Correspondent for NPR's Washington Desk. Before he came to NPR in 2019, Ordoñez covered the White House for McClatchy. He has also written about diplomatic affairs, foreign policy and immigration, and has been a correspondent in Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and Haiti.
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