‘Didn’t want Modi, Macron, Starmer...’: Donald Trump says Washington DC cleanup made it ‘cleaner, better, safer’

US President Donald Trump said he did not want Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders who visited him to see the tents and graffiti near federal buildings in Washington DC and has ordered the cleaning up of the American capital.  

"We're cleaning up our city. We're cleaning up this great capital, and we're not going to have crime," Trump said Friday while addressing officials at the Department of Justice. "We're going to take the graffiti down, and we're already taking the tents down."  

He added that Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has cooperated with the effort. “We said there are tents galore right opposite the State Department. They have to come down. And they took them down right away. So far, so good,” he said.  

Trump emphasized that the capital should be a source of pride and a symbol of order for dignitaries. "When Prime Minister Modi of India, the President of France, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom came to see me, I had the route run. I didn't want them to see tents, graffiti, broken barriers, or potholes in the roads. And we had it looking beautiful," he noted.  

The president also vowed to make Washington D.C. crime-free. "When people come here, they're not going to be mugged or shot or raped. It's going to be cleaner, better, and safer than ever before," he asserted.  

Modi visited the White House on February 13 for a bilateral meeting with Trump, becoming the fourth foreign leader hosted by the US president since his second-term inauguration in January.  

Trump has also welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are among the other world leaders who have met Trump during his second term.

(With inputs from agencies)