Hegseth Bristles at ‘Ingrates’ Protesting His Appearance in D.C.

A Thursday morning event held by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top Trump administration officials to celebrate the White House’s public safety efforts in Washington was disrupted by a group of vocal protesters, who broadcast the sound of sirens and shouted over speeches.

At one point Hegseth strayed from his prepared remarks to fume at the demonstrators, calling them “ingrates” who could not recognize the successful public safety work carried out by President Donald Trump and his team.

“This background noise this morning is perfect. It’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude, of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them,” Hegseth said.

The secretary appeared at Meridian Hill Park in Northwest D.C. against a backdrop of National Guard officers to acknowledge the work of the White House’s D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which increased law enforcement in the city starting last summer. Videos posted to X show protesters shouting “Guard, go home” and “fuck you, Nazis.”

In an unusual move for federal officials, Hegseth took aim at the protesters directly and defended the mission of the National Guard troops patrolling the city.

“There’s nothing ideological about this group, there’s nothing political about this exercise. Law and order is something all Americans deserve — Black, white, rich, poor, man or woman, from D.C. or far-flung places in this country,” Hegseth said.

Around 4,700 National Guard troops from 19 states are currently deployed in D.C., according to the National Guard Association of the U.S. The Trump administration’s decision to deploy hundreds of troops to the nation’s capital last August angered many residents, who criticized the surge as an illegal and excessive exercise of power.

Law enforcement have made over 13,100 arrests and seized 1,400 guns since the deployment, according to a release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro last month. Homicides fell by 60% and overall crime slid 32%.

The statistics, which are often cited by the Trump administration, are in line with a national trend of falling murder and crime rates following spikes during the pandemic.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche joined Hegseth at the event on Thursday, where he spoke over the shouting crowd of protesters.

“It was just about one year ago today when President Trump said that he looked around this city, the capital of the greatest country in the history of civilization, and didn’t like what he saw. He didn’t like the crime, he didn’t like the way it looked, and he instructed us to do something about it. And that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Blanche said.