BURSTPresident Trump said Tuesday it was a matter of when, not if, he would send the National Guard into Chicago, citing the city’s issues with gun violence.
“Well, we're going in. I didn’t say when. We’re going in,” Trump said when asked if he had made up his mind about sending National Guard troops to Chicago. “Look, I have an obligation. This isn’t a political thing. I have an obligation.”
Trump has for weeks telegraphed the possibility that he would follow his federal crackdown in Washington, D.C., by deploying troops to Chicago, despite pushback from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and other state and city officials.
The president had in recent days suggested he would rather have Pritzker and other officials ask for federal assistance, but Trump earlier Tuesday indicated he was preparing to act.
“At least 54 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, 8 people were killed. The last two weekends were similar,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Chicago is the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far. Pritzker needs help badly, he just doesn’t know it yet. I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again, and soon.”
A federal judge ruled earlier Tuesday that the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles earlier this year in response to immigration protests violated an 1878 law that generally bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement.
Pritzker, who is considered a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, has repeatedly warned Trump against deploying the National Guard in Chicago.