WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump pledged on Sunday to remove homeless people from the U.S. national capital.

"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY ... We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. "The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong."

He said the move was to address a hike in crimes in the capital.

However, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has denied such a claim.

"We have spent over the last two years driving down violent crime in this city, driving it down to a 30-year low," Bowser told MSNBC.

Violent crime fell 26 percent in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35 percent in 2024, and overall crime dropped 7 percent, according to the city's police department. ■