Didn’t Want PM Modi, Other Leaders To See A Messy Washington, Says Trump

US President Donald Trump on Saturday (India time) reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining a cleaner and safer Washington. He stated that he had personally overseen a cleanup operation around the White House and the State Department headquarters ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.

Speaking at the Department of Justice, Trump stated, “We said there are tents galore right opposite the State Department. They have to come down and they took them down right away. And, so far, so good. We want to have a capital that can be the talk of the world.”

“When Prime Minister Modi of India, when the President of France, and all of these people, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, they all came to see me over the last week and a half. When they come in, I had the route run. I didn’t want to have them see tents. Didn’t want to have them see graffiti. I didn’t want to have them see broken barriers and potholes in the roads. And we had it looking beautiful,” Trump further asserted.

The US President however emphasized his administration’s commitment to fully restoring cleanliness in the American capital.

“We are cleaning up our city. We are cleaning up this great capital and we are not going to have crime, and we are not going to stand for crime, and we are going to take the graffiti down, and we are already taking the tents down, and we are working with the administration,” Trump praised Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, acknowledging her efforts and stating that she has been doing a ‘good job’.

Trump hosted Prime Minister Modi for an Official Working Visit in Washington, DC, on 13 February. The visit marked a significant diplomatic engagement just weeks after he began his second term.

During his two-day visit, PM Modi stayed at Blair House, the historic guest residence located near the White House.

Welcoming PM Modi at the Oval Office, Trump expressed his delight, saying he was ‘thrilled’ to receive ‘friend Narendra Modi’ once again at the White House.

As a gesture of friendship, the US President gifted Prime Minister Modi a signed copy of his book ‘Our Journey Together’ with a personal note reading, ‘You are great’.

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