Mayor Blasts Trump's Threat To Deploy National Guard To Chicago

CHICAGO — Chicago's politician is defying President Donald Trump's threat to deploy nan National Guard to nan Windy City to combat crime, and is scoping retired ineligible avenues to forestall soldiers from overtaking nan city.

On Friday, Trump talked astir his arguable deployment of nan National Guard to Washington, D.C., and said Chicago and New York City would beryllium next. The president has described nan deployment successful nan nation's superior arsenic a bid to cleanable up crime, but critics disregard nan move arsenic small much than political overreach.

“The Guard is not needed,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told NBC News. “This is not nan domiciled of our military. The brave men and women who signed up to service our state did not motion up to inhabit American cities.”

Johnson besides noted nan city's diminution successful murders, shootings and car thefts. Chicago constabulary crime data from earlier this period show murders are down 31% from nan aforesaid clip past year, shootings person dropped by 36% and conveyance thefts are down 26%.

“The things that we’re doing successful Chicago by investing successful people, younker employment, intelligence wellness care, services, building much affordable homes, making judge that our detectives bureau has each nan resources that it needs ... that’s why we’re seeing nan results that we are experiencing correct now,” he said.

“Occupying our cities pinch nan subject — that’s not really we build safe and affordable communities,” he added.

Johnson connected Sunday further questioned why Trump slashed national investments successful unit prevention and reduced nan fund for nan Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid if he wanted to thrust down unit successful large cities.

“The National Guard is not going to put nutrient connected people’s table. The National Guard is not going to trim unemployment,” Johnson said.

The mayor's agency said successful a connection Saturday that it was moving pinch Illinois' politician and Cook County, which is location to Chicago, successful “evaluating each of our ineligible options to protect nan group of Chicago from unconstitutional national overreach.”

Edwin Yohnka, head of communications and nationalist argumentation for nan Illinois branch of nan American Civil Liberties Union, said nan president will look ineligible situation if nan Guard is deployed successful Chicago without a valid reason.

"There’s a higher obstruction for nan President to nonstop National Guard into Chicago [than into D.C.], because location has to beryllium a reason, aliases he has to person nan statement of nan politician of nan authorities of Illinois. And clearly, from what we see, he’s not going to person that. He’s going to person to articulate a logic for doing it, I deliberation that logic will beryllium challenged by nan authorities of Illinois," Yohnka said.

He noted nan ACLU of Illinois will besides beryllium “on nan lookout” for really troops behave connected nan streets and situation immoderate arrests, detention sweeps aliases usage of excessive force.

Speaking Friday astatine nan Oval Office, Trump said he hadn’t made immoderate actual plans pinch respect to Chicago and hadn't spoken to nan politician astir immoderate unit deployment.

He claimed, however, that group successful nan metropolis "are screaming for america to come.”

“When we’re ready, and we’ll spell successful and we’ll straighten retired Chicago, conscionable for illustration we did D.C. Chicago is very dangerous,” nan president said.

On Saturday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker accused Trump on X of “attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who service successful uniform, and proceed abusing his powerfulness to distract from nan symptom he’s causing families.”

The chair of Chicago metropolis council’s nationalist information committee said to NBC Chicago connected nan request to trim crime successful nan metropolis but said nan president's National Guard threats are misguided.

“We still spot an unacceptably precocious number of robberies, carjackings, burglaries, break-ins. We person activity to do, but we request thief that makes sense," Alderman Brian Hopkins said. "The national National Guard isn’t going to make a quality successful carjacking successful Chicago. If he really wanted to help, we’re short 2,000 constabulary officers. Unfortunately, that is not what Trump is talking about.”

The threat against Chicago comes arsenic Trump has besides threatened to deploy nan Guard to Baltimore, and has attacked Maryland Gov. Wes Moore connected societal media.

Moore said successful a connection that Trump “would alternatively onslaught his country’s largest cities from down a table than locomotion nan streets pinch nan group he represents.”

Trump has been utilizing nan National Guard successful unconventional ways compared to past presidents.

Typically, nan Guard is called upon for crises including earthy disasters and civilian unrest. In June, nan president deployed thousands of Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles amid protests against migration raids. That deployment was against nan wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

The existent D.C. deployment has raised eyebrows arsenic well. While touted arsenic being a guidelines against crime, the numbers show convulsive crime successful nan nation’s superior was down 26% compared to past year, according to D.C. constabulary data.