Donald Trump said the federal government should “take over Washington DC,” as the US president complained about crime, graffiti and “too many tents on the lawns.”

Trump has had a contentious relationship with the nation’s capital’s Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, since his first term in office.

“I think that we should govern the District of Columbia… I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawless,” he told journalists late Wednesday on Air Force One.

“The federal government should take over the governance of DC And run it really, really properly.”

Trump said he likes the mayor and gets along “great” with her. “But they’re not doing the job — too much crime, too much graffiti, too many tents on the lawns.”

The Republican leader said he wanted to make the city safe because people were “getting killed” and “being hurt.”

He also raised the issue of homelessness, saying: “It’s a sad thing, homeless people all over the place.

“We’ve got to take care of the homeless, but we can’t have that in Washington, DC.”

Trump raised concerns over welcoming foreign leaders to the city given the situation, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and China’s Xi Jinping.

“You can’t let that be, you just can’t let that happen.

“You can’t have tents over your once magnificent plazas and lawns.”

Washington, with a population of around 700,000, is a federal district rather than a state.

Two Republican lawmakers introduced a bill in early February to repeal the city’s Home Rule Act, which would effectively strip the mayor and city council of their authority.

“The corruption, crime, and incompetence of the DC government has been an embarrassment to our nation’s capital for decades,” said Senator Mike Lee, adding Congress should restore “honor and integrity” to the city.

Bowser has not directly responded to the president but stated on X that Washington “is a world-class city.”

She also stated it is the only place in the United States where you can see pandas for free.

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