'Feel-out' summit could be unscripted and unpredictablepublished at 17:37 British Summer Time

17:37 BST

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Donald Trump is characterising his Friday summit with Russian President Vladmir Putin as a “feel-out meeting".

Repeatedly during his just-concluded news conference, Trump said that he would listen to what the Russian leader had to say and then pass the word along to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.

He broached the possibility that at the conclusion of Friday’s meeting, he may simply wash his hands of the conflict, which he again characterised as the responsibility of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

“I may leave and say good luck, that will be the end,” Trump said.

International diplomacy is typically a carefully choreographed undertaking. By the time national leaders meet face to face, considerable groundwork has been laid in lower-level talks, with little left to chance or surprise and both sides having a substantive understanding of the other’s positions.

As has been proven time and time again over the past eight years, however, this is not how Trump does business. Friday is shaping up as the kind of unscripted, unpredictable event with a global audience – just the way this president seems to like it.

During the news conference, Trump spoke at length about his upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

He says he finds it "very respectful" that the Russian president is meeting him on US soil, and he thinks the pair will have "constructive conversations" on Friday.

But his comments on a possible "land swap" with Ukraine might not please President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has insisted his country will not give up any land as part of a peace agreement.

Trump says there will be "some land swapping" and "some changes in land" as part of a deal. He knows this "through Russia and through conversations with everybody".

This "land swap" will be "for the good of Ukraine", he says. "Good stuff, not bad stuff."

But then, perhaps less reassuringly: "Also, some bad stuff for both."

Asked if Zelensky was invited to Friday's meeting, Trump says Ukraine's president "wasn't a part of it" but that he "could go" if he wanted to.

Trump says he hopes to set up a future meeting between Zelensky and Putin, and offers to join the pair "if they need".

If Putin proposes a "fair deal" during Friday's talks, Trump says he will convey it to European leaders, including (as his first call) Zelensky.

"Probably in the first two minutes I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made," he adds. A reporter asks how he will know.

"Because that's what I do, I make deals," he says.

Tom Bateman
BBC News, Washington

In his press conference Trump offered a highly simplistic view of homelessness , portraying it as a blight that needs to be removed so cities can be “beautified”. He also wrapped it into announcing a series of measures he says are about controlling violent crime in Washington DC.

The causes of homelessness are complex, and can include issues around poverty, unemployment, mental health, lack of fair opportunities, former military service, drug use, or a combination of the above, among other factors.

Rates rocketed in many US cities following the Covid pandemic, highlighting the links between the issue and upheaval in the economy. I arrived in DC early last year after 7 years living and working in the Middle East, where the extended family remains a primary institution of economic welfare in many societies. Homelessness is far less visible across the region; and I remember being astounded by the levels of it here in DC.

While Trump’s implied conflation is to link rates of homelessness with the risk of violent crime for the general population, homeless people are in fact far more likely than the general population to be victims of violent crime, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless., external

A significant proportion of homeless women will also have experienced severe physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lives, according to the American Bar Association., external

In January, I interviewed Angie as she faced her first winter on the streets of DC. A survivor of domestic violence, she had fled her home state and was struggling to get help. In a soup kitchen she told me: “You’re out there at night, and early mornings, shelters tell you to get out at 06:00. It’s like a race to get a hot meal when you have no money and nowhere to go.”

How high is the murder rate in Washington DC?published at 17:11 British Summer Time

17:11 BST

By Jake Horton

During the news conference President Donald Trump said that "murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever" in Washington DC, adding that numbers “just go back 25 years”.

The homicide rate did rise in 2023 to around 40 per 100,000 residents - hitting the highest point in 20 years, according to FBI data.

However, that wasn’t the highest rate ever recorded - it was significantly higher in the 1990s and in the early 2000s.

So far this year, the number of homicides is down 12%, external compared with this point last year, according to the DC Metropolitan Police Department.

President Donald Trump's news conference has just come to an end - as he left the room, reporters shouted out questions about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as how long the deployment of the the National Guard to Washington DC would last.

We'll continue to bring you analysis on the key points raised by the US president, so stick with us.

Image source, EPA

Speaking on Russia and Ukraine again, Trump says he and European allies have "overdosed on the settlement of Ukraine".

He says European leaders specifically are tired of the war.

"They want to get back to building their own countries," he said.

The White House has just released the text of the executive orders that Trump signed today aimed at tackling crime in Washington DC.

In the order, Trump says that "rising violence in the capital now urgently endangers public servants, citizens, and tourists, disrupts safe and secure transportation and the proper functioning of the Federal Government".

The order puts the DC police under the control of the federal government because of an "emergency".

It also states that the "Attorney General shall regularly update me on the status of the special conditions of an emergency nature that exist in the District of Columbia that require the use of the Metropolitan Police Force for Federal purposes".

"The magnitude of the violent crime crisis places the District of Columbia among the most violent jurisdictions in the United States," Trump's executive order states.

Trump did not offer 10,000 troops to stop 6 January attackpublished at 16:53 British Summer Time

16:53 BST

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent

Donald Trump claims he once offered 10,000 troops to Washington DC to help stop the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol.

The attack was sparked by his supporters who believed him when he wrongly claimed the 2020 election result was stolen.

But his offer to deploy troops that day is not true.

In 2023, the committee investigating the attack released dozens of reports to challenge his narrative that he made a “recommendation for troops” and that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi failed to act on it.

Evidence showed no formal request was made, and the committee said that when he referenced troops, it was to a request to protect him and his supporters - not the Capitol.

Image source, Getty Images

As we’ve just heard, Donald Trump is preparing to send a deployment of National Guard troops to Washington DC as part of his new crackdown on crime and homelessness.

We don't know yet exactly how many troops Trump is planning to call in, but he says this move will "help re-establish law, order and public safety" in the US capital, and adds: "They're going to be allowed to do their job properly".

It was a measure the president utilised back in June, when he ordered 2,000 National Guardsmen to Los Angeles to deal with unrest over raids on undocumented migrants. Both Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have pointed to the LA deployment during the announcement today.

This is a decision usually only taken by a state’s governor, and LA Governor Gavin Newsom’s office called Trump’s takeover “purposefully inflammatory", warning it would “only escalate tensions”.

The last time such a measure was used in DC was in response to the 6 January riots in 2021, which saw crowds of pro-Trump supporters force their way inside the US Capitol.

Ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration that followed just over a week later, members of the National Guard were sent en masse to the US capital, to deter any repeat of the deadly riots.

On international matters, Trump is asked about a tariff deadline for China.

As it stands, there is a deadline of just after midnight tonight (12 August) for the two trading heavyweights to agree on a tariffs deal.

"We'll see what happens", Trump says, adding that the US has been "dealing very nicely" with China on tariffs.

"They've been dealing quite nicely, the relationship is very good with President Xi and myself," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump is continuing to take questions from the journalists gathered in the room, and is asked how personal Washington DC's appearance and crime rates are to him.

The president immediately describes how the capital's appearance is critical when other leaders visit, as "they're all wanting to come".

"Everything should be perfect" when these dignitaries visit, Trump explains.

"It's a very strong reflection of our country," he adds. "If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty and they don't respect us."

Trump was just asked by a reporter if the White House is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, as suggests a report from the Wall Street Journal last week.

Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and LSD.

Trump confirms the White House is "looking at that", but "it's early".

"We'll make a determination over the next few weeks," he says without adding what he would reclassify the drug as.

His announcement came after he spent some time talking about the "radical left" and "woke culture", touching on how people were tearing down statues of US historical figures. He says that as president, he's solved the problem and "largely ended" people being "woke".

Sakshi Venkatraman
Live reporter

President Trump just invoked something called Washington DC's "Home Rule Act" in his effort to federalise police in the city.

The Home Rule Act was actually designed to give residents more autonomy. So what does this mean and how is Trump using it?

What is home rule?

DC is the seat of the federal government, and it's also the only US city that's not in any of the 50 states. That means it lacks representation in Congress. It was run by presidential commissioners until 1973, after which former President Richard Nixon instituted "Home Rule Act," allowing residents to elect a city council and a mayor.

But it also reserves some powers for the president and Congress.

How is Trump using home rule to federalise DC police?

The Home Rule Act says the president can take control of the city's police force if "special conditions of an emergency nature exist”.

However, if the president intends to take over for longer than 48 hours, he needs to provide a written notice to Congress. Even if that notice is provided, he can't keep control for longer than 30 days.

Taking over DC police is an unprecedented steppublished at 16:29 British Summer Time

16:29 BST

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to the streets of Washington DC was hinted in advance. His move to take over the city’s Metropolitan Police Department is an unprecedented step, injecting the White House deep into the day-to-day management of one of the nation’s largest municipal police forces.

Section 740 of the law granting Washington limited self-governance gives the president authority to take over city’s police department in emergency circumstances. The provision was included in the aftermath of the civil unrest of the 1960s, but no president has every used it – until now. This authority expires in 30 days unless Congress extends it.

Trump has identified a very real problem – homelessness and crime are a cause for concern in many American cities – but his means of addressing it is once again testing the limits of presidential power.

Trump introduces US attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who he praises as having the "number one show" on TV before she joined his team.

"We all want a safe city," Pirro says. But at the moment she says she sees "too much violent crime being committed by young punks" who think they can "beat the hell out of you or anyone else".

They know they can get away with it because the laws against underage criminals are "too weak", she says.

"We see you, we're watching you, and we're going to change the law to catch you," she says.

Towards the beginning of today's news conference, Trump appears to have misspoken, telling reporters that he is "going to Russia on Friday".

"I'm going to see Putin," he said.

Trump announced last Friday that he would meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week - not Russia - as he aims to put an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks next, saying she wants to be "crystal clear" that "crime in DC is ending and it's ending today".

The government will use "every power we have to fight criminals", she says.

She names some of the officials who will be taking over law enforcement in the city, including "great" FBI director Kash Patel and "our secret weapon" Jeanine Pirro, the newly confirmed DC US attorney (and former Fox News host).

Feelings, not facts, drive Trump's crime crackdownpublished at 16:15 British Summer Time

16:15 BST

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The stats don't actually show that crime is out of control; violent crime in DC has been on the decline since 2023.

Data from the Metropolitan Police here shows that total violent crime is at a 30-year low. But there have been incidents which trouble residents.

And so the president is successfully tapping into people's feelings and perceptions by highlighting criminal acts, including the attack on Elon Musk protégé Edward Coristine.

It's feelings, not facts that he's pushing.

Also for many residents here in liberal DC, where there isn't much electoral support for Donald Trump, it's ironic hearing a president talk about deploying National Guard troops.

It was something he was accused of failing to do on 6 January 2021 during the Capitol riot.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is now speaking to reporters. He says that at Trump's direction, the National Guard will be "flowing into the streets of Washington" in the coming week.

He adds that they are prepared to bring in other specialised National Guard units to the city.

Hegseth points to the recent deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles to quell protests against raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and says deployed troops will be working with police "to ensure this city is safe".

The National Guard hasn't been deployed to Washington DC since 6 January, 2021, when Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol.

Donald Trump steps aside from the podium now, and invites interior secretary Doug Burgum to speak.

He talks on behalf of the US Park Police, a federal law enforcement agency that will now be tasked with dealing with crime in DC.

Burgum describes how the park police have already begun work removing homeless camps and protecting national monuments as part of Trump's goals of "making DC safe and beautiful again".