Washington: Pledging to continue efforts to have a cleaner and safer Washington, US President Donald Trump on Saturday, India time, said that he had a “route run” around White House and the headquarters of the United States Department of State ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US capital to make sure that a cleanliness drive is carried out throughout the area to make it look nice and tidy.
“We said there are tents galore right opposite the State Department. They have to come down and they took them down right away. And, so far, so good. We want to have a capital that can be the talk of the world,” Trump said while delivering a speech from the Department of Justice (DoJ).
“When Prime Minister Modi of India, when the President of France, and all of these people, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, they all came to see me over the last week and a half. When they come in, I had the route run. I didn’t want to have them see tents. I didn’t want to have them see graffiti. I didn’t want to have them see broken barriers and potholes in the roads. And we had it looking beautiful,” Trump stated.
The US President emphasised that his administration will make sure that the American capital is cleaned up completely.
“We are cleaning up our city. We are cleaning up this great capital and we are not going to have crime, and we are not going to stand for crime, and we are going to take the graffiti down, and we are already taking the tents down, and we are working with the administration,” Trump added while praising Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who he said has been doing a “good job”.
The US President hosted PM Modi for an Official Working Visit in Washington, DC on February 13 which took place within three weeks of Trump beginning his second term at the White House, showcasing the priority that both leaders attached to the India-US relationship.
During the two-day visit, PM Modi stayed at the Blair House — the historic guest house which is a 70,000-square-foot extension of the White House.
As he welcomed PM Modi at his Oval Office, Trump stated that he was “thrilled” to welcome “friend Narendra Modi” back to the White House.
The US President also gifted a signed copy of his book ‘Our Journey Together’ to PM Modi when the two leaders met at the White House and wrote “you are great”.
(IANS)
