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Celebrity chef José Andrés says President Trump is serving up a “flat out lie” by claiming that half of the restaurants in Washington had closed due to safety concerns.
“I understand why you are confused … all your time in DC you haven’t eaten ONCE outside the White House or your own hotel,” the famed 56-year-old restauranteur said in a Tuesday post on X directed at Trump.
“I’ve lived here for 33 years, and it’s a flat out lie that half the restaurants have closed because of safety…but restaurants will close because you have troops with guns and federal agents harassing people…making people afraid to go out,” Andrés, who was born in Spain, wrote.
In comments this week, Trump touted crime numbers following his announcement earlier this month that he was taking federal control of the District’s police department and deploying the National Guard in the city.
“Friends of mine are going out to dinner now. They haven’t gone out to dinner in four years — they were afraid. They were petrified,” Trump said on Monday.
“Half the restaurants closed because nobody could go because they’re afraid to go outside. Now, those restaurants are open and new restaurants are opening up,” Trump said.
“It’s like a boom town,” he said.
Earlier this month, data from OpenTable found that seated diners in Washington in the beginning of August started to drop dramatically compared to 2024.
“Cities and towns and rural areas of America need policies that allow small business to thrive and all people including immigrants to live and work with dignity,” Andrés, a frequent critic of Trump, said to his more than 1 million followers in his social media post.
“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government…government should have respect for its people, not terrorize them,” he added.
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