President Trump announced on Tuesday his intention to send the National Guard to Chicago at some point to combat violent crime, escalating a dispute with officials who have cautioned against intervention.
When asked about deploying troops to Chicago, the President told reporters in the Oval Office, “We’re going in. I didn’t say when.”
The President’s declaration came after days of strong words directed at Chicago and its Democratic leaders. In a series of posts on Tuesday, he called the city the “MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!” and insisted he could “solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in D.C.” He mentioned shootings during the Labor Day weekend that resulted in at least eight deaths and numerous injuries.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat and frequent critic of Trump, has opposed federal intervention and urged the White House to stay out of Chicago. He stated on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, “I’ve been standing up to Donald Trump, and I’m going to do everything I can to stop him from taking away people’s rights and from using the military to invade states.” Following the President’s press conference, Pritzker addressed reporters on Tuesday afternoon with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who issued an executive order last week instructing local police not to cooperate with federal agents or troops if deployed.
The confrontation underscores the limitations of presidential power outside of Washington, D.C., where Trump deployed the National Guard in August. The President serves as commander in chief of the Guard in the District of Columbia. In contrast, the governor typically controls deployment in Illinois, though Trump has claimed he can act independently. Legal experts anticipate that the issue will quickly go to court if Trump proceeds with deploying the military to Chicago.
Trump stated, “If the governor of Illinois would call up, call me up, I would love to do it. Now, we’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it.” He added that he has an “obligation to protect this country, and that includes Baltimore.”
Pritzker responded shortly afterward in his own press conference. He said, “I’m aware that the President likes to go on television and beg me to ask him for troops. I find this extraordinarily strange, as Chicago does not want troops on our streets.”
The administration has already faced obstacles with similar endeavors. A federal circuit court judge ruled on Tuesday that Trump’s deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles earlier this summer violated federal law, though the decision did not mandate the withdrawal of the hundreds of Guard members still stationed in Los Angeles. The White House is expected to appeal that decision.
Chicago has long struggled with violent crime, but city officials point out that the problem is not as severe as Trump suggests. According to police statistics, homicides and shootings have decreased this year, putting the city on track for its lowest homicide rate in half a century.
Nevertheless, a violent Labor Day weekend provided Trump with an opportunity. He said, “Two weeks ago they had six people murdered and 24 people hit by bullets. Last week… seven people died. Over the last two days, that was the crown jewel. They had, I guess, 9 or 10 killed, and 50 hit with bullets.”
The President also expanded his criticism to include Baltimore and Los Angeles, both led by Democrats, and implied they could be next. He stated in a social media post, “Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the world, by far.”
Trump highlighted his deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., as a model for other cities. “I’m very proud of Washington. It serves as a template and we’re going to do it elsewhere,” he said.
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