JD Vance Booed at Union Station While Handing Out Burgers to Troops in DC Crackdown

Vice President JD Vance probably wasn’t expecting a warm welcome at Union Station on Wednesday afternoon, but he definitely didn’t expect the wall of boos and chants that greeted him either.

Vance showed up at the busy Washington DC transit hub with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. The trio staged a photo op at Shake Shack, handing out burgers to National Guard troops recently sent to the city under orders from Donald Trump. According to The Guardian’s reporting, the crowd outside wasn’t having it, with demonstrators shouting “Free DC!” and “From DC to Palestine, occupation is a crime,” as the officials tried to talk to soldiers and reporters.

At one point, chants grew so loud that Miller and Vance had to raise their voices just to be heard. Protesters also peppered the scene with expletives as the group made its way through the station and into the restaurant.

When asked why troops were stationed at Union Station instead of neighborhoods with higher crime rates, Vance doubled down. He insisted the area was plagued by “vagrants, drug addicts, the chronically homeless and the mentally ill,” arguing that visitors didn’t feel safe. “This should be a monument to American greatness,” he told reporters. “We do not have to live like this.”

The vice president didn’t hold back when it came to his critics either. In the video shared by CNBC-TV18, he said: “It’s kind of bizarre that we have a bunch of old, primarily white people who are out there protesting the policies that keep people safe when they’ve never felt danger in their entire lives.” Twisting their rallying cry, he added: “Let’s free Washington DC, so that young families can walk around and feel safe and secure. That’s what we’re trying to free DC from.

Miller, never one to mince words, joined in with his own jab. He dismissed protesters as “crazy communists” and mocked them as “stupid white hippies that all need to go home and take a nap because they’re all over 90 years old.” He claimed the administration’s only priority was “protecting the American people and the citizens of Washington DC.”

The show of force comes after Trump’s move last week to federalize the city’s Metropolitan Police Department and send in National Guard troops. He justified the decision by saying he was cracking down on “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor” in what he called a “lawless” capital. But those claims don’t line up with official numbers: DC’s violent crime rate is actually at a 30-year low, according to city data.

Roughly 1,900 troops are being deployed, with more than half coming from Republican-led states like Louisiana and South Carolina. Besides Union Station, soldiers have been spotted around downtown landmarks including the National Mall and major metro stops.

For now, the controversy continues to stir heated debate. Supporters of the deployment argue it’s about restoring order and safety. Critics say it’s political theater and unnecessary militarization, especially when statistics show crime is down.

One thing is clear: if Vance and company hoped for a smooth rollout, the booing crowd at Union Station showed DC residents aren’t exactly sold on the plan.

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