Trump scraps 'surprise' restaurant visits as memory of protestors leaves him spooked
A month after President Donald Trump was confronted by protesters at a Washington, D.C. restaurant, Axios reports that his team was "so alarmed" by how close they got to him, they had a "tense talk" with Secret Service officials.
Trump rarely makes "such unannounced appearances in D.C.," Axios says, but White House staffers were "suspicious about how protesters from the group Code Pink knew he would be at the restaurant that night."
Code Pink: Women for Peace is a U.S.-based, female-led grassroots organization that advocates for peace and social justice through nonviolent means.
Trump stopped by Joe's in D.C. to prove his claims that the city got "safer" after his August deployment there of the National Guard.
Protesters approached Trump as he took his seat in the restaurant, Axios reports, and got within a few feet of him. They shouted: "Free D.C.! Free Palestine! Trump is the Hitler of our time!" video of the incident shows.
Axios says the September 9 "episode illustrates how Trump's security remains a major — and especially sensitive — concern 15 months after he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt while campaigning in Butler, PA."
As a result, the FBI and Secret Service are still investigating, Axios says, and both "Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles were infuriated by the incident."
Following the incident, "Wiles called Secret Service leaders into her office and told them it was unacceptable that anyone not thoroughly screened was able to get near the president, and that it couldn't happen again," Axios says.
Secret Service says they did their jobs, with a spokesperson telling Axios that "all restaurant guests were screened prior to the president's arrival, including the protesters who had made a reservation to gain access. The situation inside the restaurant was quickly resolved by Secret Service personnel who were actively engaged in ensuring the president's safety, and the dinner continued without further incident."
Trump's inner circle remains skeptical, Axios says, saying some "believe Code Pink was tipped off by restaurant workers who had word Trump would be visiting, or by someone else with inside knowledge."
The restaurant declined to comment, but a Code Pink spokesperson pointed to a Washingtonian story that said the group's organizer heard a rumor Trump would be there earlier that day.
Trump aides say that for now, there are no plans for Trump to do any "OTRs" — the internal code used to describe events that aren't pre-announced to the public. Trump used these "surprise visits to restaurant" as a key part of his 2024 campaign.
