Trump's Dinner at a Washington, D.C. Restaurant Was Interrupted by Protesters

Although the president lives in Washington, D.C. for much of the year, it's fairly rare to see him venture outside the gates of the White House. President Trump decided to do exactly that for a dinner at Joe's Seafood on Sept. 9, though, and was met with protesters as well as some cheers.

At Joe's Seafood, which is less than half a mile from the White House, the president took questions from reporters even amidst the chanting. Here's what we know about the protests and who took credit for them.

Outside the restaurant, Trump was met with a mix of cheers and protesters shouting, "Free Palestine."

Once he was inside the restaurant greeting patrons, he was met with a more organized group of protesters who began chanting “Free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time," while holding Palestinian flags, according to NBC News.

Code Pink is taking credit for the protests and shared a video on their social media in which Trump can be seen approaching the protesters.

The president then stands in front of them and smiles, and they are escorted out of the restaurant as one of them says, “He’s terrorizing communities in D.C."

Given the partisan lean of Washington, D.C., and the fact that Trump's deployment of the National Guard in the city has been controversial, it's probably not surprising that he was met with public protests.

Trump, meanwhile, has claimed that restaurant attendance in the nation's capital has soared as a result of the Guard deployment, which he claims has reduced crime in the city drastically. He also told reporters before entering the restaurant that he was planning to announce a deployment to another city as soon as Sept. 10.

“We wanted to take some of the members of the Cabinet out to dinner, and here we are — we’re standing right in the middle of D.C., which, as you know about, over the last year was a very unsafe place, over the last 20 years actually was very unsafe. And now there’s virtually no crime. We call it crime-free,” he explained.

Trump's foray into Washington came a few days after a reporter asked him whether he would eat out in the city, something he hadn't done during either of his terms in office.

The White House did not address the protesters or their messages. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did reveal what Trump and the other members of his cabinet ate during the meal.

“The President and his team enjoyed crab, shrimp, salad, steak, and dessert. The food was phenomenal and the service was fantastic. Thank you, Joe’s!” she said in a statement.

We don't know whether the president is planning to venture out into the city to eat again, but if he does, he's likely to continue encountering protesters. There are few cities in the country more ardently opposed to the president, even if he also happens to live among them for most of the year.