President Donald Trump got an icy reception after stepping out onto the streets of Washington, D.C. Tuesday night to eat at a local establishment for the first time ever.
The two-term U.S. president has only ever been to one dining establishment in D.C.: the one in his own hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Trump was joined by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he made his way to Joe’s Seafood, an American surf n’ turf spot near the White House.
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Trump said his D.C. outing was aimed at proving that D.C. has become safer since he deployed the National Guard to crack down on crime.
“The restaurants now are booming. People are going out to dinner where they didn’t go out for years, and it’s a safe city,” he told reporters just outside the restaurant. “We have a capital that’s very, very safe right now.”
Cheers and jeers followed Trump from the street into the seafood joint. Footage taken by the Washingtonian showed a small crowd hurling hurrahs and boos at Trump as he made his way into the establishment.
Another video obtained by CNN captured protesters inside holding up Palestine flags as they chanted, “Free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time.” At one point, Trump could be seen staring down the hecklers while Hegseth, Rubio, and Vance stood in silence.
Footage posted online by activist group Code Pink, who claimed responsibility for the protest, shows the group chanting at the president as Trump instructed his security to remove them.
“While Trump, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and others feasted at a steakhouse, we stood our ground and told them the truth: Free DC. Free Palestine. Trump is the Hitler of our time,” the group wrote on X.
“Trump looked us in the eyes, we made sure he will never dine in peace while communities are under siege,” a second post added. Code Pink is a pacifist feminist organization that was established in opposition to the Iraq War; it has since expanded to oppose all U.S. wars and advocate for peace.
In another clip posted by the White House, Trump was met with resounding cheers inside the restaurant as he gave a quick speech.
“We have a safe city. Enjoy yourselves — you won’t be mugged going home,“ he said, drawing laughter from the crowd. ”Have a good time, everybody."
Trump’s visit to the restaurant also appeared to be staged as a clapback to a reporter who pointed out that he had never been seen out on the town before. During a press conference at the Oval Office last week, Trump got testy when a reporter asked whether he had plans to eat at a local restaurant.
“You haven’t gone to one (restaurant) in either of your terms that wasn’t–” the reporter began, but Trump swiftly cut him off.
“How do you know?” he asked twice. “Do you want me to prove you wrong?”
“I think it’s something we could consider doing,” Trump went on. “Love to do it. I love the White House food, but after a while, I could see going to a nice restaurant. It’s safe.”
The White House tagged the reporter in an X post that read, “Andrew Feinberg proven wrong once again — many such cases!”
Last month, celebrity chef Jose Andres torched Trump in a scathing X post responding to the president’s claims that half the restaurants in D.C. were closed because people were afraid to dine outside.
“Mr. President, I understand why you are confused...all your time in DC you haven’t eaten ONCE outside the White House or your own hotel,” Andres wrote. “I’ve lived here for 33 years, and it’s a flat out lie that half the restaurants have closed because of safety.”
Joe’s Seafood is an upscale restaurant with locations in Chicago and Las Vegas. Its dinner menu features Alaskan red king crab priced over $100 and oysters going for $24 a dozen.
When reached for comment about Trump’s dinner, the White House pointed the Daily Beast to a clip of the president emphasizing safety in D.C.
