I've never received so many phone calls thanking me for what we've done in Washington, D.C.,

from people that haven't gone to a restaurant literally in four years.

And they said, you know what you've done is it's unprecedented because what they said,

it was just unsafe.

We couldn't do it.

We'd go out and you'd see the stories.

You'd read the stories.

You'd see all of the things that are happening.

And they said, we just, we couldn't, we couldn't stand it, sir.

And now I take my wife and my kids to dinner.

One of them said he's gone out four nights in a row, and he hadn't gone out for four years.

As President Trump yesterday, bragging that the federal takeover of the D.C. Police Department

has people going out to restaurants again, apparently. The question is, was dining out really

that dangerous in the first place? That event came after an appeals court dismissed a massive civil

fraud penalty against the president and his company. The question is, will he ever face any

financial penalties for routinely overvaluing his properties? Also ahead, we'll have the latest

in the Trump administration's pressure campaign on the Smithsonian. The question is, will the institution

allow the president to rewrite history?

It's way too early for this.

Good morning and welcome to way too early, the show that has always enjoyed a good meal in the

nation's capital.

Great restaurant scene here. I'm Ali Vitale on this Friday, August 22nd. We'll start with the news.

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