Trump's run-in with D.C. protesters still haunts his team
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President Trump, flanked by Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks to reporters outside a restaurant in Washington, D.C., last month. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
After protesters got within a few feet of President Trump at a D.C. restaurant last month, his team was so alarmed it had a tense talk with Secret Service officials about Trump's security, Axios has learned.
- Trump rarely makes such unannounced appearances in D.C., but top advisers say the Sept. 9 incident at Joe's, a seafood restaurant near the White House, has made surprise pop-ins by Trump much less likely.
- They also remain suspicious about how protesters from the group Code Pink knew he would be at the restaurant that night.
Why it matters: The 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.
- The revelations about the incident at Joe's surface just days after the Secret Service discovered a suspicious hunting stand in a tree with a line of sight to where Trump typically exits Air Force One during frequent visits to the Palm Beach airport in Florida.
- The FBI and Secret Service continue to investigate that incident.
Zoom in: Trump's visit to Joe's was designed to boost his claims that D.C. had become safer since he deployed National Guard troops there in August. He was joined by Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
- Protesters approached Trump as he took his seat, 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.
- Vance walked toward the protesters to take his seat in an attempt to force Secret Service into action, according to a person familiar with the interaction.
- Two advance White House staffers then ushered the protesters away.
Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles were infuriated by the incident. White House officials were particularly alarmed that knives on the restaurant's tables were near the protesters.
- The president doesn't mind when protesters are at a distance from him, people familiar with his thinking told Axios, but was angry that the Code Pink members were able to get so close.
- Trump privately has praised the staffers who helped move the protesters away from him.
- Wiles later 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.
What they're saying: A Secret Service spokesperson tells 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," the spokesperson added.
The intrigue: Because the White House didn't announce Trump's plans to go to Joe's, the question of how the protesters knew he would be there has been a subject of discussion within the White House.
- Some Trump aides believe Code Pink, a social justice and anti-war group, was tipped off by restaurant workers who had word Trump would be visiting, or by someone else with inside knowledge.
- A spokesperson for Joe's declined to comment.
A Code Pink spokesperson declined to comment, but pointed to a Washingtonian story that said the group's organizers had heard a rumor earlier in the day that Trump would be at Joe's.
The fallout: Trump aides say that for now, they have quashed any plans for Trump to do any "OTRs" — the internal code used to describe events that aren't pre-announced to the public.
- OTRs have lighter security protocols than announced stops. The Secret Service takes steps such as shutting down roads and putting snipers on roofs during publicly announced events, but OTRs are less buttressed.
- OTRs were a central feature of Trump's 2024 campaign. He used surprise visits to restaurants such as Waffle House and McDonald's to try to show a connection with working-class voters.
