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.

During remarks in the Oval Office, President Trump told reporters he may declare a national emergency in order to keep the National Guard in Washington, D.C. He added that he does not believe believe he will have to take that step after the 30-day deadline.

The US capital, he declared, had been "overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people". He vowed to rescue it from "bedlam and squalor" and to let the police "do whatever the hell they want".

Nearly 1,700 National Guard troops are expected to deploy across 19 states for the next few months as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide

The moves came as protesters pushed back on federal law enforcement and National Guard troops fanning out in the heavily Democratic city following President Donald Trump’s executive order.

In Washington on Wednesday night, the most visible sign of President Trump’s takeover of the local Police Department was a sobriety checkpoint operated by local and federal police agencies on a busy street near downtown, which drew a crowd of jeering protesters.

President Donald Trump declared victory in the nation's capital, 10 days after announcing the federal takeover of the Washington metro police force to “rescue” the city from crime. Trump on Aug.