By CHRISTINE FERNANDO, JOHN O’CONNOR and MICHELLE L. PRICE, Related Press
CHICAGO (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday mentioned Chicago will possible be the subsequent goal of his efforts to crack down on crime, homelessness and unlawful immigration.
Trump indicated that the Midwestern metropolis might obtain related therapy to what he’s finished in Washington, D.C., the place he’s deployed 2,000 troops on the streets.
“I feel Chicago might be our subsequent,” Trump informed reporters on the White Home, later including, “After which we’ll assist with New York.”
The feedback got here because the Pentagon on Friday started ordering troops in Washington to carry firearms, although there have been no overt indications they’ve confronted threats that might require them to hold weapons.
Trump has repeatedly described among the nation’s largest cities — run by Democrats, with Black mayors and majority-minority populations — as harmful and filthy.
He singled out Chicago on Friday, calling it a “mess” and saying residents there are “screaming for us to come back” regardless of important decreases in crimes of violence.
President Donald Trump’s suggestion Friday that Chicago could be his subsequent goal for crime crackdown didn’t sit effectively with Illinois officeholders.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson mentioned his workplace has not acquired formal communication from the Trump administration about navy or federal legislation enforcement deployments in Chicago however mentioned “we’ve grave considerations concerning the affect of any illegal deployment of Nationwide Guard troops.”
Johnson referred to as Trump’s strategy “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound,” arguing it “has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and legislation enforcement.”
It’s unclear how Trump would pursue an effort in Chicago that’s much like his strategy to D.C., the place house rule legal guidelines give the federal authorities larger authority.
Nevertheless, Trump’s plans apparently transcend Chicago and New York. In an interview Thursday, the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., focused some cities within the Pacific Northwest for related therapy, The (Portland) Oregonian reported.
“Possibly we must always roll out the tour to Portland, Seattle, the opposite craphole cities of the nation,” Trump Jr. mentioned, blaming Democrats for “through-the-roof” homicide charges.
In a submit on X entitled “Issues Individuals are Begging For,” Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, included cheaper groceries, no cuts to Medicaid or meals help for low-income households, and the discharge of federally held recordsdata on Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted intercourse trafficker and former Trump pal.
What they don’t seem to be begging for, Pritzker continued, is “an authoritarian energy seize of main cities.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, referred to as Trump’s Washington, D.C. technique “political theater.” He mentioned Chicago is “a fantastic, vibrant metropolis with individuals from all walks of life” and prompt pursuing “confirmed bipartisan options” towards additional crime discount.
“These unprecedented threats from President Trump are nothing greater than an influence seize to distract from his disastrous insurance policies,” Durbin mentioned in a press release.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a U.S. Senate candidate, informed Trump his “political circus isn’t welcome right here.”
“If Trump desires to take his ego journey on tour, he picked the flawed metropolis,” she mentioned in a press release on X.
Lisa Hernandez, chair of the Democratic Get together of Illinois, referred to as Trump’s feedback “offensive and false” and argued his rhetoric echoes a historical past of racist narratives about city crime.
“Chicagoans will not be begging for him,” she informed The Related Press.
Trump has taken goal at Chicago for over a decade, together with on the 2024 and 2016 presidential marketing campaign trails. He has repeatedly in contrast town to Afghanistan and, in 2017, threatened to “ship within the feds” attributable to gun violence within the metropolis, regardless of historic declines in violent crime lately.
Violent crime in Chicago dropped considerably within the first half of the 12 months, representing the steepest decline in over a decade, based on metropolis information. Shootings and homicides have been down greater than 30% within the first half of 2025 in comparison with the identical time final 12 months, and whole violence crime dropped by over 22%.
Johnson touted town’s strategy to violent crime, asserting in a press release to The Related Press that “our communities are most secure once we totally spend money on housing, group security, and training.” Whereas Trump turns to the navy, he mentioned Chicago has invested in psychological well being companies, community-based interventions, elevating minimal wages and bettering reasonably priced housing.
If he desires to make town safer, Johnson mentioned, Trump ought to restore $158 million he reduce in violence-prevention applications for cities equivalent to Chicago.
“There are numerous issues the federal authorities might do to assist us cut back crime and violence in Chicago, however sending within the navy shouldn’t be one in every of them,” he mentioned.
Pastor Donovan Value, an area advocate for gun violence victims, referred to as Trump’s phrases “extraordinarily hurtful” and warned that federal intervention might escalate tensions in Chicago amid drops in violent crime. He additionally emphasised that community-based anti-violence applications, reasonably than militarism, is essential to lowering gun violence in Chicago.
“Keep out of our metropolis,” he mentioned. “This isn’t a federal problem. We reside this on daily basis. We all know what our group wants.”
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