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Nationwide Guard troops deployed beneath President Donald Trump’s sweeping federal takeover of the capital have been noticed this week selecting up trash luggage in Lafayette Park, the Nationwide Mall and the Tidal Basin.
About 110 troopers have been assigned to cleanup responsibility as a part of a White Home-directed “Protected and Stunning Activity Drive,” based on reporting from FOX 5 DC.
The weird optics spotlight Washington’s picture drawback.
Trump ordered roughly 800 Guard members into the town beneath a criminal offense emergency plan, although solely a fraction truly patrol with police. The remainder are dealing with logistics or neighborhood initiatives, like hauling away litter beneath the supervision of the Nationwide Park Service.
On the similar time, metropolis tourism leaders are rolling out new advertisements to promote a special image.
TRUMP’S WEEK SHAPED BY CRIME AGENDA, POTENTIAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO CHICAGO
Nationwide Guard troops gathered litter whereas on cleanup responsibility in Lafayette Park in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, throughout the federal deployment. (WTTG)
Vacation spot DC, the town’s official advertising and marketing arm, reported a document 27.2 million guests in 2024, who spent $11.4 billion, generated $2.3 billion in tax income and supported 111,500 jobs within the capital.
To construct on the momentum, the group is pushing a “We the Folks DC” advert marketing campaign that profiles 20 locals who “stay, work and thrive” within the metropolis. “Following the federal govt order… DDC acted rapidly to counter the narrative and separate rhetoric from actuality,” the group stated in its launch.
Worldwide visitation is anticipated to drop 5.1% in 2025 — higher than the nationwide forecast however troubling since abroad vacationers keep longer and spend as much as 4 occasions as a lot as home ones, the group stated.
Tourism officers are banking on America’s 250th anniversary in 2026 to attract thousands and thousands extra.
TRUMP’S USE OF NATIONAL GUARD IN DC IS A MODEL FOR SAVING AMERICA’S CITIES
A Nationwide Guard service member collected trash alongside benches in Lafayette Park close to the White Home, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (WTTG)
By then:
The Nationwide Archives will end a $40 million renovation.
A brand new immersive museum will open beneath the Lincoln Memorial.
The Jefferson Memorial will add a contemporary exhibit corridor.
The Nationwide Air and Area Museum will reopen its ultimate galleries.
The Hirshhorn Sculpture Backyard and a brand new 14-gate concourse at Dulles Airport are additionally set to open in 2026, with conference enterprise projected to generate almost 700,000 resort room nights that 12 months.
Members of the Nationwide Guard carried luggage of trash whereas working in Lafayette Park close to the White Home in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (WTTG)
President Trump promised to “make [Washington] protected; make it sensible; make it stunning,” vowing to “restore the town again to the gleaming capital that everyone desires it to be.”
That backdrop makes the town’s PR marketing campaign — and the optics of Guard troops hauling litter — a part of a broader political battle over whose imaginative and prescient of the nation’s capital will prevail.
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The White Home didn’t instantly return Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.
