Vance dismissed the protest, saying Washington doesn't need to be freed from protesters, but from lawlessness. "I think you hear these guys out here screaming at us. A bunch of crazy protesters.

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Joseph Ax WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top Trump administration officials on Wednesday thanked troops deployed in the nation's capital and blasted demonstrators opposed to the aggressive anti-crime efforts as "stupid white hippies.

Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited Washington, D.C.'s Union Station to spend time with National Guard troops who were called in to assist D.C. police in a federal crime crackdown.

The VP dismissed the demonstrators as ‘old, primarily white people’ who have ‘never felt danger in their entire lives.’

Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited with National Guard troops at Washington, D.C.'

Vice President JD Vance was met with protester boos during a photo op with National Guard troops at Union Station.

The protest comes as West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio announced they would deploy hundreds of additional National Guard troops to the nation's capital.

Protesters in Washington, D.C., pushed back over the weekend against President Donald Trump's growing federal military and law enforcement deployment in the capital.