President Donald Trump blasted Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) pushing for statehood as “ridiculous” while calling the nation’s capital an “embarrassing” sight that needs major cleaning up.
The president was asked about Bowser advocating for D.C. statehood on Wednesday while announcing new honorees at The Kennedy Center. Trump called Bowser a “very nice woman” before being asked D.C. statehood, which he torched as “ridiculous.”
Trump said:
Statehood is ridiculous. We want to straighten the place out. Statehood is ridiculous. It’s unacceptable. It’s-, the Democrats want it because the Democrats have, you know, about 95% in this little area. Even I, didn’t get it very much — they want to pick up two senators and that’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen. And that’s the least of the reasons why, by the way, but that’s one of the reasons why. What we want to do is make Washington, D.C. the greatest most beautiful, safest capital anywhere in the world and that’s going to happen.
The president — who recently ordered National Guard troops into D.C. as part of a crackdown on crime — said the administration will be seeking funds to work on D.C.’s infrastructure. He claimed at one point that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a recent visit that the roads in Armenia
“It’s embarrassing,” Trump declared.
The city, the president argued, is not “properly” taken care of and fixing it up is far more pressing than statehood debates.
He said:
We have the greatest bones. When you look at that Supreme Court building, I think it’s one of the most beautiful buildings. When you look at some of the buildings here, so magnificent, everything’s is good, but it’s just dirty and not properly maintained. It’s not properly taken care of. Potholes in the roads. All of it’s going to happen very quickly. We’re going to seek a relatively small amount of money to fix up.
Bowser, who called the deployment of the National Guard “unsettling,” advocated for D.C. statehood during a recent interview on The Breakfast Club.
“We’re continuing to work, but we think that this action kind of plays into his narrative about cities, about using force, about being tough on crime, and I can say a little bit more about why D.C. is different,” she said. “But it’s times like this when America needs to know why your nation’s capital — a place where 700,000 taxpaying Americans live — should be the 51st state.”
Watch above via Fox News.