Stephen Miller (left), Pete Hegseth, JD Vance (AP)
Vice President JD Vance’s lunch event with national guard troops at Union Station on Wednesday was disrupted by a wave of protests, as demonstrators voiced opposition to the Trump administration’s security deployment in the capital.Vance, joined by defence secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, met National Guard members – many from red states such as South Carolina, Ohio, and Mississippi – at a Shake Shack inside the station. The visit was intended as a gesture of appreciation for troops deployed to patrol Washington, DC, according to CNN.As Vance entered the venue, he was met with a mix of applause and boos. Protesters blocked from entering the second floor of the restaurant chanted “shame,” “this is our city,” and “we want the military out of our streets.” In response, others began chanting “USA.”When questioned by reporters during a brief press interaction, Vance dismissed the demonstrators as “crazy” and “communists.” Miller added, without evidence, that the protesters were “elderly white hippies” and “not part of the city,” as quoted by the news outlet. Referencing his past visit to Union Station with his children, Vance said, “They were being screamed at by violent vagrants, and it was scaring the hell out of my kids.”The visit highlighted ongoing tensions between DC residents and the Trump administration’s decision to deploy federal forces in the city. A Washington Post-Schar School poll earlier found that about 80% of DC residents oppose the move and the federal takeover of the city’s police department.Vance pushed back against those numbers, stating: “I’m highly skeptical that a majority of DC residents don’t want their city to have better public safety and more reasonable safety standards.”A college student at Union Station, who asked not to be named, told CNN, the troop presence felt “overwhelming.” She added, “I thought I had read that the crime rate in DC is actually going down?”While city officials and Democrats have raised similar points, Vance claimed crime is “massively underreported.” When asked for supporting data, he responded: “Just talk to a resident of this city.”Some media reports suggest that the department of justice is currently investigating whether DC’s metropolitan police department manipulated crime data.As Vance concluded the visit and returned to the main level, more boos followed. “I heard you buddy,” he responded to one protester. “This is the guy who thinks people don’t deserve law and order in their own community,” he said to Hegseth.Outside, another group of protesters gathered near parked National Guard vehicles. One sign read: “Criminals out of DC? Start with the Epstein files.”
