Trump says US government should ‘take over’ Washington

Washington: Donald Trump said the federal government should “take over Washington DC,” as the U.S president complained about crime, graffiti and “too many tents on the lawns.”

Trump has had a contentious relationship with the nation’s capital’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, since his first term in office.

“I think that we should govern the District of Columbia... I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawless,” he told journalists late Wednesday on Air Force One.

“The federal government should take over the governance of DC And run it really, really properly.”

Trump said he likes the mayor and gets along “great” with her. “But they’re not doing the job -- too much crime, too much graffiti, too many tents on the lawns.” The Republican leader said he wanted to make the city safe because people were “getting killed” and “being hurt.” He also raised the issue of homelessness, saying: “It’s a sad thing, homeless people all over the place.

“We’ve got to take care of the homeless, but we can’t have that in Washington, DC.”

Trump raised concerns over welcoming foreign leaders to the city given the situation, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Kair Starmer and China’s Xi Jinping.