"I'm going to be going out tonight," the President said in reference to his plan to patrol the city on the evening of August 21. "I'm going to keep it a secret. But I'm going to go," the president said according to the Daily Mail.

It's clearly not a secret anymore, now that President Trump has announced his plans.

"I'm going to be out tonight, I think, with the police -- and the military, of course," the President said by way of further explanation. "We're going to do a job. The National Guard is great," he added.

The President has come under fire for his recent action to federalize Washington, D.C. Trump took control of the District's police under the provisions of the 1973 DC Home Rule Act.

The basis for this action was the Administration's contention that crime had spiked in the city and that city officials had misrepresented crime statistics to make it appear that the levels of crime in the city were not severe.

By contrast, according to the President, crime was "totally out of control" in the city. So far, the federal action to control crime in the city appears to be working.

"As of Thursday" August 21, the Daily Mail pointed out, "there were zero murders in D.C. for an entire week, marking a new record."