President Trump said Chicago will be the next city to receive his administration’s increased federal law enforcement surge to combat crime, similar to his crackdown on the District of Columbia.
“We’ll straighten that one out, probably next, that will be our next one after this,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office. “I think Chicago will be our next and then we’ll help with New York.”
The president said he has received calls from politicians “begging me to go to Chicago, begging me to go to New York, begging me to go to Los Angeles.”
He slammed Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, calling him “grossly incompetent.”
“The people in Chicago … are screaming for us to go. They’re wearing red hats, just like this one, but they’re wearing red hats,” he said. “African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ’Please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please.’”
As he spoke, the president was wearing a red cap emblazoned with “Trump Was Right About Everything.”
Democrats disagreed.
Mr. Johnson has said that sending the National Guard to Chicago “would only serve to destabilize our city and undermine our public safety efforts.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the president is “attempting to manufacture a crisis.”
“The State of Illinois at this time has received no requests or outreach from the federal government asking if we need assistance, and we have made no requests for federal intervention,” he said in a statement.
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is eyeing a run for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, said that if Mr. Trump wanted to help cities combat crime, he would leverage technology that helps prevent carjacking, prosecute gang members and focus on gun-related crimes.
“Partner with us,” he said on CNN. “Don’t try to come in and act like we can be an occupied city.”
Mr. Trump angered Democratic leaders in California earlier this year when he deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration enforcement operations.
Then, two weeks ago, Mr. Trump sent National Guard troops to patrol the District.
He said the National Guard has done an incredible job, and he hasn’t had to bring in the military, “which we’re willing to do if we have to.”
Mr. Trump said he has not spoken with elected officials of the cities he’s planning to address next.
“When we’re ready, we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago, just like we did D.C. Chicago is very dangerous,” he said.
He said he’s received “quiet calls” from Democrats in those cities saying they want him to come, but when asked to name who’s called him, he said he wouldn’t because he doesn’t want them to lose their elections.
“But we’ve had calls from Democrats and calls from people generally — ’We’d love for you to come here,’ because we’ll straighten out the problem,” he said.
Data shows that violent crime is down in Chicago and New York, just like data from the Metropolitan Police Department showed about D.C.
Mr. Trump said the District’s crime statistics were fudged, and the Justice Department has opened an investigation into it.
In the past, MPD officers have accused the department’s top brass of misclassifying violent crimes to artificially reduce the crime rate.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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