Trump suggests homeless evictions ahead of Washington DC 'crackdown'
On Sunday Trump wrote on Truth Social: 'The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.'
The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, pushed back on Trump's claims, saying the city is 'not experiencing a crime spike' and highlighting that violent crime has fallen to a 30-year low. Trump called Bowser 'a good person who has tried', but said she's been given many chances while crime numbers continue to worsen.
Violent crime fell 26% in the first seven months of 2025 and overall crime dropped 7%, according to the city's police department, but gun violence remains an issue. In 2023 Washington had the third-highest gun homicide rate among US cities with populations more than 500,000, according to gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
Over the past week, Trump has intensified his messaging, demanding the swift eviction of homeless residents and vowing to jail offenders. He has raised the prospect of stripping the city of its local autonomy and signalled a possible full federal takeover.
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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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