Trump slams DC crime as 'embarrassing' as he preps for high-stakes Putin meeting
President Donald Trump called the spiraling crime in Washington D C embarrassing as he prepares for high-stakes meetings with foreign leaders pointing directly to his highly anticipated Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin This is an crisis Trump reported the media during his press conference Monday morning announcing he is federalizing the D C police force to curb crime in the city This is a tragic crisis And it's embarrassing for me to be up here You know I'm going to see Putin I'm going to Russia on Friday I don't like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was with graffiti all over the walls he continued Trump is scheduled to meet with Putin in Alaska Friday which is strategically located between D C and Moscow Trump declared a crime exigency in the nation's capital Monday and reported the National Guard and hundreds of other law enforcement leaders from various agencies will descend on the city to prevent further crimes TRUMP IS THREATENING TO 'FEDERALIZE' DC WITH NATIONAL GUARD AND MORE HERE'S HOW THAT COULD PLAY OUT Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals roving mobs of wild youth drugged-out maniacs and homeless people he explained And we're not going to let it happen anymore We're not going to take it Washington D C 's crime rate spiraled followed the national increase in violent crimes in when social justice protests and riots broke out in cities nationwide at the height of pandemic TRUMP VOWS TO MAKE DC 'SAFER' AND 'BEAUTIFUL' AS CAPITAL BATTLES CRIME AND HOMELESSNESSThe crime trends in the nation's capital have ebbed and flowed in the subsequent years including carjackings shootings and murders spiking before Trump reclaimed the Oval Office in January The city has been plagued by a handful of high-profile crimes in latest weeks including the fatal shooting of a congressional intern in June the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy staffers in May and a brutal attack on a former Department of Establishment Efficiency staffer earlier in August Local Democrat leaders have slammed Trump over the move to federalize the police including D C Attorney General Brian Schwalb arguing on X that there is no crime urgency pointing to how violent crimes have fallen so far this year Trump's press conference comes just days ahead of his planned meeting with Putin Friday in Alaska to discuss the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine PRESIDENT TRUMP INCREASES FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PRESENCE IN DC FOLLOWING VIOLENT CRIME SURGE I think we'll have constructive conversations Trump mentioned Monday previewing the Friday meeting with Putin Then after that meeting directly maybe as I'm flying out maybe as I'm leaving the room I'll be calling the European leaders who I get along with very well And you know I have a great relationship I think with all of them and I get along with Zelenskyy But you know I disagree with what he's done very very severely disagree This is a war that should have never happened wouldn't have happened But I'll be speaking to Zelenskyy The next meeting will be with Zelenskyy and Putin or Zelenskyy and Putin and me I'll be there if they need but I want to have a meeting set up between the two leaders Trump disclosed he will know if Putin is sincere about making aa deal to end the war within minutes of meeting with him The president added that land swapping between the two nations will likely be part of the deal We're going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin And at the end of that meeting possibly in the first two minutes I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made he stated How do you know a reporter responded Because that's what I do I make deals Trump shot back before moving on to another question
