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Donald Trump says he ordered Washington DC cleanup before Modi's US visit: ‘Didn't want PM to see tents, potholes'
US President Trump ordered the removal of tents, graffiti, and potholes, ensuring a crime-free capital for visiting dignitaries, including Prime Minister Modi.
US President Donald Trump said he did not want Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders who visited him to see the tents, graffiti and potholes near federal buildings in Washington DC, and ordered the cleaning up of 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," Donald Trump said on Friday in remarks at the Department of Justice.
Trump lauded Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser for doing a “good job” cleaning up the capital.
“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 so far, so good. We want to have a capital that can be the talk of the world," Trump said.
"When Prime Minister Modi of India, the President of France, and all of these people… Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, they all came to see me over the last week and a half. And when they come in…I had the route run. I didn't want to have them see tents. I 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,” the US president added.
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Crime-free capital soon: Trump
Trump vowed to transform the city into a crime-free capital, ensuring that visitors would no longer face the threat of muggings, shootings, or assaults. He emphasised that the capital would soon be cleaner, safer, and better than ever before.
“And we are going to do that for the city, and we are going to have a crime-free capital. When people come here, they are not going to be mugged or shot or raped. They are going to have a crime-free capital, again, it's going to be cleaner and better and safer than it ever was and it's not going to take us too long,” Trump said.
PM Modi's US visit
On February 13, PM Narendra Modi visited the White House for a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump, becoming the fourth foreign leader hosted by the US President within weeks of his January inauguration.
In less than a month since the start of Trump’s second term, he had already welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Jordan's King Abdullah II.
French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are among the other global leaders Trump has hosted during his second term.
(With inputs from PTI)
