ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump vowed Sunday to immediately remove homeless people from Washington, DC and relocate them "far from the capital" as part of efforts to make the city safer.

Trump said a press conference on crime and “Beautification” of the US capital will be held on Monday in the White House.

The event will address "ending the Crime, Murder, and Death in our Nation's Capital" while focusing on "Cleanliness and the General Physical Renovation and Condition of our once beautiful and well maintained Capital," Trump wrote on social media.

"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital," he said in a separate post.

Trump said "it was the most beautiful Capital in the World" before "tents, squalor, filth, and Crime."

He promised swift action would transform Washington, saying: "I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.”

While offering relocation for the homeless, Trump threatened criminals with imprisonment. "The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong," he said.  

Criticism of DC leadership

Despite calling her "a good person who has tried," Trump criticized DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, saying she has been given many chances but "Crime Numbers get worse, and the City only gets dirtier."

"The American Public is not going to put up with it any longer," Trump wrote.

"Be prepared! There will be no 'MR. NICE GUY.' We want our Capital BACK," he wrote.

Trump announced Saturday that Monday's news conference would "essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, D.C.," calling it "one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World."

Official DC police figures show crime dropped in 2024 as well as so far this year. Violent crime fell 35% in 2024 compared with the previous year, and homicide dropped 32%. So far in 2025, violent crime dropped 26% from last year. Homicide dropped 12%, and assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 20%.

Trump's announcement coincides with Justice Department action against "sanctuary jurisdictions" including Washington, DC, for limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Trump also criticized a $3.1 billion renovation of a Federal Reserve building, claiming it could have been done "in a far more elegant and time sensitive manner for $50 to $100 Million Dollars."

Trump has used the renovation as part of his continuing push for the resignation of Jerome Powell, the Fed chair. Confronted last month by Trump on the issue, Powell said the president was confusing the costs of two different projects.