‘DC must become clean and safe’: Trump tells DC mayor to clean up homeless encampments in nation’s capital

Trump wrote on Wednesday, "We have notified the Mayor of Washington, DC, that she must clean up all of the unsightly homeless encampments in the City, specifically including the ones outside of the State Department, and near the White House. If she is not capable of doing so, we will be forced to do it for her! Washington, DC must become CLEAN and SAFE! We want to be proud of our Great Capital again. Thank you Mayor Bowser for your efforts on behalf of the Citizens of our Country. Hopefully you will be successful!"

Trump has expressed support for the federal government taking over control of the nation’s capital if it continues to be mismanaged, saying that the city cannot remain in its current state when it hosts foreign leaders, Fox News reported.

Trump said in February, "They're not doing the job." He argued that there is "too much crime" in the nation’s capital and "too many tents on the lawns—these magnificent lawns."

Trump criticized the "crime-ridden" city on the campaign trail, and in December 2023 he called DC a "dirty, crime-ridden death trap" and said it "must be taken over and properly run by the Federal Government."

At a February rally in Las Vegas, Trump said he would "take over our horribly run capital," describing the city as a "nightmare of murder and crime." He added, "We’re going to federalize it. We’re gonna have the toughest law enforcement in the country. We’re not going to have any more crime and it’s going to look beautiful."

Despite this, Trump has said that he likes the city’s Democrat leader. They met in December to discuss their priorities for Washington, DC, with Bowser calling it a "great meeting."

"President Trump and I both want Washington, DC to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation," Bowser said at the time.