His motorcade speeding the short distance to Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on 15th Street in the northwestern quadrant of the city follows weeks of the president boasting about mobilising federal authorities and the military that he says have made Washington "a safe zone"
Some restaurants have reported drops in reservations since Trump first announced the federal crackdown on August 7, while there have been frequent street protests decrying his actions
Increased military and police presence also has occasionally sparked standoffs between residents and authorities in normally quiet neighbourhoods
Trump has nonetheless said repeatedly that he's spoken to friends who tell him local restaurants are full and that people have noticed a drop in crime. He says he's also heard that people appreciate crews working to remove homeless encampments as part of the crackdown
The president had suggested previously that he might be heading out to dinner for a firsthand look
"I think it's something we could consider doing. Love to do it," Trump told reporters last week in the Oval Office when asked about venturing out to dinner beyond the White House. "I love the White House food, but after a while, I could see going to a nice restaurant. It's safe"
Trump rarely dines away from the White House when he's in Washington. And those outings have gotten even less common since he sold the hotel bearing his name a few blocks away, which was a key meeting point for administration officials and supporters during his first term
The White House reported Tuesday that there had been nearly 2,200 arrests since Trump first announced the Washington crackdown on August 7
In addition to Washington, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles in June and has threatened to send troops to other, largely Democratic cities, including Baltimore, New Orleans and Chicago, where state and local authorities already are bracing for operations to sharply increase immigration enforcement
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