DC tourism launches new advertising and marketing adverts as Nationwide Guard cleans up capital

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National Guard troops deployed below President Donald Trump’s sweeping federal takeover of the capital have been noticed this week selecting up trash baggage in Lafayette Park, the Nationwide Mall and the Tidal Basin.

About 110 troopers have been assigned to cleanup obligation as a part of a White Home-directed "Protected and Lovely Activity Power," in response to reporting from FOX 5 DC .

The weird optics spotlight Washington’s picture drawback.

Trump ordered roughly 800 Guard members into town below a criminal offense emergency plan, although solely a fraction truly patrol with police. The remainder are dealing with logistics or group tasks, like hauling away litter below the supervision of the Nationwide Park Service.

On the similar time, metropolis tourism leaders are rolling out new adverts to promote a special image.

TRUMP'S WEEK SHAPED BY CRIME AGENDA, POTENTIAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO CHICAGO

Nationwide Guard troops gathered litter whereas on cleanup obligation in Lafayette Park in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, throughout the federal deployment. (WTTG)

Destination DC, town’s official advertising and marketing arm, reported a document 27.2 million guests in 2024, who spent $11.4 billion, generated $2.3 billion in tax income and supported 111,500 jobs within the capital.

To construct on the momentum, the group is pushing a "We the Folks DC" advert marketing campaign that profiles 20 locals who "reside, work and thrive" within the metropolis. "Following the federal govt order… DDC acted shortly to counter the narrative and separate rhetoric from actuality," the group stated in its launch.

Worldwide visitation is predicted to drop 5.1% in 2025 — higher than the nationwide forecast however troubling since abroad vacationers keep longer and spend as much as 4 instances as a lot as home ones, the group stated.

Tourism officers are banking on America’s 250th anniversary in 2026 to attract thousands and thousands extra.

TRUMP’S USE OF NATIONAL GUARD IN DC IS A MODEL FOR SAVING AMERICA’S CITIES

A Nationwide Guard service member collected trash alongside benches in Lafayette Park close to the White Home, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (WTTG)

By then:

The Nationwide Archives will end a $40 million renovation.

A brand new immersive museum will open below the Lincoln Memorial.

The Jefferson Memorial will add a contemporary exhibit corridor.

The Nationwide Air and Area Museum will reopen its last galleries.

The Hirshhorn Sculpture Backyard and a brand new 14-gate concourse at Dulles Airport are additionally set to open in 2026, with conference enterprise projected to generate almost 700,000 lodge room nights that 12 months.

Members of the Nationwide Guard carried baggage of trash whereas working in Lafayette Park close to the White Home in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (WTTG)

President Trump promised to "make [Washington] secure; make it sensible; make it stunning," vowing to "restore town again to the gleaming capital that everyone desires it to be."

That backdrop makes town’s PR marketing campaign — and the optics of Guard troops hauling litter — a part of a broader political battle over whose imaginative and prescient of the nation’s capital will prevail.