President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to deploy active-duty military forces into Chicago, saying the city was plagued by runaway crime under its Democratic leadership.
In remarks to reporters from the Oval Office, Trump pointed to Washington, D.C., where he said crime had improved since he asserted control of the city’s police department earlier this month. He praised the work of National Guard troops patrolling parts of the capital alongside local police and said his plan of soldiers and federal agents “making the city safe” would soon be replicated elsewhere.
“We’re going to make our cities very, very safe,” Trump said. “Chicago is a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent, and we’ll straighten that one out, probably next. That’ll be our next one after this, and it won’t even be tough.”
The president went on to say that Chicago’s Black residents, including what he described as “African American ladies, beautiful ladies,” were asking him to intervene. He suggested New York could follow after Chicago.
Trump also warned he might “bring in the regular military” for law enforcement purposes — a move that would violate the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that bars the use of federal troops for domestic policing. While governors can call in state National Guard units for emergencies, federally controlled forces cannot be used in that role.
Asked whether he had spoken with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Trump said he had not, but insisted the plan would move forward. “When we’re ready, we’ll go in and straighten out Chicago, just like we did D.C. Chicago is very dangerous,” he said.