President Donald Trump’s bid to showcase that Washington is “safe” enough for him to dine out ended in a din of boos and chants Tuesday night, as protesters swarmed his high-profile meal just one block from the White House.

Trump arrived at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on Sept. 9 with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It was an unusually public dinner for a president who rarely eats out in the capital during his second term, opting instead to visit his own hotels or remaining at the White House.

Reporters were summoned to hear Trump argue that the turnaround under his National Guard–backed crime crackdown has made D.C. “virtually crime-free” and prove that the city is open for business again.

“We’re standing right in

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