Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addressed National Guard troops gathered at Meridian Hill Park in Washington D.C. as part of the Trump administration’s “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force”. The event drew immediate pushback from local demonstrators, who blared sirens and chanted “Guard, go home!” while administration officials spoke to the ranks.
Hegseth’s Remarks
Hegseth, a military veteran, opened his remarks by apologizing to the soldiers for a scheduling delay. He then incorporated the demonstrations directly into his speech, framing the disruption as a contrast to the Guard’s mission. Hegseth maintained that the deployment is a non-partisan effort to secure Washington for residents and tourists during the milestone year.
The task force has drawn scrutiny from critics who view the military presence in the district as an overreach of executive authority. Hegseth attributed recent drops in local crime rates directly to the White House and task force leadership.
Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.
