Celebrity chef José Andrés lashed out at President Donald Trump this week, accusing him of harming Washington, D.C.’s restaurant industry with his aggressive anti-crime policies and immigration enforcement.
Andrés, the Spanish-born founder of World Central Kitchen, posted a lengthy rant on X accusing Trump of “terrorizing” illegal immigrants and avoiding restaurants in the city. “All your time in DC you haven’t eaten ONCE outside the White House or your own hotel,” he wrote. He went on to claim it was “a flat out lie” that half the city’s restaurants had closed because of safety concerns.
But the chef’s claims contradict reporting from late 2023, which showed that at least 52 restaurants permanently shut their doors in the District, with owners directly citing rampant crime as a leading cause. Carjackings, robberies, and homicides have all contributed to a perception of danger in the nation’s capital, driving down foot traffic for local businesses.
Andrés instead blamed Trump’s federal crackdown, arguing that law enforcement measures—including National Guard deployments—were scaring residents and workers. “Restaurants will close because you have troops with guns and federal agents harassing people…making people afraid to go out,” he wrote.
The celebrity chef ended his message with a plea for looser immigration policies, saying small businesses needed illegal immigrant labor to survive. “Government should have respect for its people, not terrorize them,” Andrés concluded.
His comments followed a viral clip of Trump noting that “half the restaurants closed, because nobody could go, because they were afraid to go outside.” Since Trump’s anti-crime surge began, D.C. has seen over 1,000 criminals taken off the streets and even recorded nearly two weeks without a murder—something locals say hasn’t happened in years.
While restaurant owners continue to warn that crime is their biggest challenge, Andrés appears more concerned about protecting illegal immigration than confronting the lawlessness that has plagued D.C. for years.
