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8h ago

Vance Booed at Union Station During Guard Visit as White House Signals Expanded Crackdown

The viral scene highlighted a White House push to enlarge the D.C. security surge.

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US vice president JD Vance eats a Shake Shack hamburger with members of the National Guard during a visit to Union Station on 20 August 20, 2025. (Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)
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Vice-President JD Vance eats a Shake Shack hamburger with members of the National Guard during a visit to Union Station on Aug. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The Trump administration has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the district in order to place the city's Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation's capital.

Overview

  • Vice President J.D. Vance visited Union Station with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller to greet National Guard troops and hand out Shake Shack burgers.
  • Protesters booed and heckled Vance with chants including references to a debunked social‑media “couch” rumor, and video of the exchange drew millions of views online.
  • Vance defended the deployment and criticized the demonstrators, describing them as primarily older white protesters and portraying the city as beset by disorder.
  • Miller condemned the crowd with derisive labels and said the White House would add thousands more resources to the public safety effort in Washington.
  • The appearance came during a federal security operation that has deployed an estimated 1,900 National Guard troops to the city, with many reportedly sent from Louisiana and South Carolina.