Topline
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have decried President Donald Trump, who appeared to suggest Saturday his administration would go to “WAR” with Chicago and deploy National Guard troops in the city as part of a broader crime crackdown.
Chicago’s mayor said Trump’s “threats are beneath the honor of our nation.”
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Key Facts
“This is not a joke,” Pritzker wrote on X in response to a Truth Social post by Trump, which reads, “I love the smell of deportations in the morning … Chicago [sic] about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” while featuring an AI-generated image in an apparent parody of the Vietnam War film “Apocalypse Now.”
In a later post, Pritzker included an informational flyer from Illinois immigration officials, with bullets acknowledging “everyone has constitutional rights regardless of immigration status,” including the right to deny entry without a valid warrant, which Pritzker provided examples of, noting which documents allow immigration officials to enter homes.
Johnson responded to Trump’s post, writing on X, “The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution.”
“We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump,” Johnson continued.
Other Democrats criticized Trump over the post, including Newsom, who accused Trump of deploying the military into U.S. cities and “using our troops like political pawns,” and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who called Trump’s post “disgusting.”
Reps. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., called Trump’s post an “act of a tyrant” and “despicable,” respectively.
Crucial Quote
“Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man,” Pritzker said, adding, “Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”
What Do We Know About Trump Deploying Troops In Chicago?
Trump said Tuesday “we’re going in” to Chicago and Baltimore, but did not say when the deployments would happen. The president has repeatedly said he would like to have Pritzker’s permission before entering the city, though Trump noted, “We’re going to do it anyway, we have the right to do it,” adding he has an “obligation to protect this country, and that includes Baltimore.” Pritzker has shut down Trump’s requests for permission to deploy troops in Chicago, saying Trump’s comments earlier this week were “unhinged” and emphasizing he would “not call the president asking him to send troops to Chicago.” Trump previously walked back his call to send troops to Chicago, suggesting he would instead focus on New Orleans, where Gov. Jeff Landry said he would welcome the National Guard.
Why Would Trump Deploy Troops In Chicago?
Trump has said he would deploy the military to Chicago to “solve the crime problem,” falsely claiming the Illinois city was the “MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD” despite other U.S. cities having larger violent crime rates last year. The number of murders in Chicago’s murder rate is down 32% this year for the week ending Aug. 24, while the number of shooting incidents was down 36%, according to Chicago Police Department statistics.
Key Background
Trump has claimed a nationwide crime problem has persisted across the U.S. amid threats to deploy federal law enforcement and the National Guard. He deployed thousands of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., last month as part of a similar crime crackdown that included a federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. Troops have assisted with public beautification efforts, while also patrolling the streets and assisting in arrests. Washington, D.C., attorney Brian Schwalb, a Democrat, challenged the Trump administration’s deployment in a lawsuit filed earlier this week, alleging the administration has “run roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy—that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement.” The lawsuit preceded a judge ruling the Trump administration violated a law that prohibits the military from being used for civilian law enforcement.