He promises to make the capital safer and more beautiful than ever before, demanding that people facing homelessness must leave the city now.
Trump’s New Plan for Washington
On Sunday, August 10, President Donald Trump declared that Washington must be emptied of all people in the homelessness crisis. He added that they must do so “immediately.” This was one of the points he raised in his latest post on truthSocial, previewing a Monday press conference on safety and the “beautification” of the U.S. capital. Trump criticized the $3.1 billion spent on renovating the Federal Reserve building, arguing that such a renovation could have been completed more elegantly and on time for $50–100 million, thereby saving $3 billion, eliminating traffic and endless construction. He repeatedly criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as a “real failure” who is too dumb and politicized to lead the central bank. His remarks came after Powell kept interest rates at current levels and referred to the building’s renovation.
Washington Is Not for Everyone
According to the White House, Washington is becoming “ever dirtier and less attractive,” despite efforts by District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser. Trump said the American public will no longer tolerate this. He promised to care for Washington as well as the border and limit illegal immigration. “I will make our capital safer and more beautiful than ever before,” he wrote. He emphasized that people in homelessness must “leave” immediately, promising them sleeping spaces but “forced out of the capital.” He added that people need not “evacuate” criminals, because they will be “sent to prison and will no longer have a discount rate.”
President’s Regulation on Homelessness Crisis
The correspondent from the Polish Press Agency highlighted that homelessness has been a visible problem on Washington’s streets and other large U.S. cities. Trump frequently complains about tents and people in crisis sleeping on parks, streets and sidewalks. In July, the president signed on homelessness aimed at helping local officials remove people from the streets. The rules allow, among other things, directing mentally ill or substance‑abusing individuals to treatment centers. Police statistics show that Washington’s crime rate is the lowest in 30 years.
Homelessness Figures in Washington
As a federal report released in 2025 for the past year shows, Washington ranked third—behind California and New York—in population of people in chronic homelessness. Forty‑nine percent of residents were classified as chronically homeless, the highest percentage among all states. While reasons for homelessness vary, its scale is closely linked to the availability of affordable housing. “The decline in homelessness since the 2008 financial crisis corresponded with a significant drop in housing prices and rents relative to family incomes. The rise in homelessness afterward mirrors a later sharp increase in housing costs relative to earnings… Geographically, high‑homelessness states are usually those lacking affordable housing, which is reflected in annual studies by the National Low‑Income Housing Coalition… Similar patterns were found in Europe, where national studies linked rising homelessness with declines in affordable housing availability.”
Sources:
TruthSocial, PAP, Axios, Econofact
