Outside the busiest train station in Washington, newly deployed National Guard troops wearing camouflage lean on a huge military Humvee.

Wary residents and curious tourists stop to take photos, while inside the elegant Union Station a string trio plays "What a Wonderful World."

Christian Calhoun, a 26-year-old consultant who was born and raised in the US capital, told AFP that seeing the troops made him "more than disappointed -- I'm furious."

"It's a lot of standing around," he added.

Declaring that Washington is overrun by crime and plagued by homeless people, President Donald Trump has deployed 800 National Guard troops, as well as ordering a federal takeover of the city's police department.

Over more than an hour on Thursday afternoon, the most that the handful of troops at Union

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