WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has expressed his intention to move homeless people far from Washington, where he has said the crime is rising.
The President has announced a press conference for Monday, during which he is expected to outline his plans for Washington, a city governed by the locally elected administration of the District of Columbia, but ultimately under the oversight of Congress.
Trump has long voiced his frustration with this arrangement and has threatened to place the city under federal control, granting the White House final authority over its administration.
“I’m going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before,” the president posted on his Truth Social platform Sunday.
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” he continued, adding that criminals in the city would be swiftly imprisoned.
“It’s all going to happen very fast,” he said.
Washington ranks 15th among major US cities in terms of homeless population, according to government data from last year.
Although thousands of people continue to spend each night in shelters or on the streets, the numbers have declined compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump also threatened to deploy the National Guard as part of a crackdown on what he falsely claims is a surge in crime in the capital.
However, police statistics show that violent crime in Washington fell by 26 percent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
In fact, crime rates in the city during 2024 were already at their lowest in three decades, according to Justice Department figures published before Trump assumed office.
“We are not experiencing a crime spike,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday on MSNBC.
Trump’s threat to deploy the National Guard comes just weeks after he sent California’s military reserve force into Los Angeles to suppress protests over immigration raids, despite strong opposition from local leaders and law enforcement.
