President Donald Trump was confronted by chanting protesters during a dinner in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening, where he was joined by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other senior officials.
The incident took place at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab, a well-known downtown restaurant. As Trump entered with his security detail, at least three demonstrators stood up inside the venue, waving Palestinian flags and shouting slogans. Video footage from the scene captured chants of “Trump, you are not welcome here” and “Free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time.”
Some patrons, who had cheered Trump’s arrival, responded by shouting back in his defense, including “Yes he is [welcome].”
The President, gesturing toward his security team, ordered the protesters removed. “Come on, let’s go, get them outta here,” he was heard saying.
One protester, while being escorted out, accused Trump of “terrorizing communities all over the world, from Puerto Rico to Palestine to Venezuela.” Others continued their demonstration outside, linking their protest to Trump’s federal intervention in Washington policing.
The activist group Code Pink, which describes itself as a feminist anti-war movement, later claimed responsibility for organizing the protest. The group has staged frequent demonstrations against U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
Before entering the restaurant, Trump addressed reporters briefly on Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas. He expressed disapproval of Israel’s airstrike in Doha, Qatar, earlier in the day, which reportedly targeted Hamas officials. “We want the hostages back, but we are not thrilled about how that went down today,” he said.
Asked whether he was surprised by the strike, Trump replied: “I’m never surprised by anything, especially when it comes to the Middle East.”
In a post on Truth Social, the President reiterated that Israel acted independently in the operation. He said he had instructed Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatari officials of the attack, but that the message arrived too late to prevent it. “I view Qatar as a strong ally and friend of the U.S., and feel very badly about the location of the attack,” Trump wrote.
Meanwhile, Israel continued to expand its military operations in Gaza City on Tuesday, issuing urgent evacuation orders to residents across the city. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that coastal areas are already overwhelmed with displaced families, some of whom are being forced to sleep in makeshift shelters along the shoreline.
The protest in Washington underscored growing tensions in the U.S. over the administration’s handling of the Middle East crisis, as demonstrations linked to the conflict continue to erupt nationwide.
