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President Donald Trump and his administration have launched a crusade against Illinois lawmakers who’ve refused offers to send in National Guard troops to Chicago following a violent Labor Day weekend in the city.
While Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other state leaders remain adamant that National Guard troops are not welcome in Chicago, the Trump administration has turned up the heat on Pritzker to accept them amid Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington.
“At least 54 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, 8 people were killed… Pritzker needs help badly, he just doesn’t know it yet,” Trump said in a Tuesday social media post. “I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again, & soon. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
WHITE HOUSE SLAMS PRITZKER, BLUE CITIES AS CRIME FIGHT ESCALATES: ‘DECLINE IS A CHOICE’
Trump issued another post on social media Tuesday morning, labeling Chicago the “murder capital.”
Trump doubled down on his sentiments later in the Oval Office, and said that places like Afghanistan “don’t even come close” to the crime in Chicago. Additionally, he said he had decided he would send National Guard troops to Chicago, despite Pritzker’s opposition.
“If the governor of Illinois would call me up, I would love to do it,” Trump told reporters later on Tuesday. “Now, we’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it because I have an obligation to protect this country.”
Other members of the administration also weighed in on Chicago’s violence over Labor Day weekend. For example, JD Vance shared a post quoting Pritzker claiming that Trump was “manufacturing a crisis,” while depicting Chicago Labor Day crime statistics.
Additionally, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said that Democrats would rather let their constituents suffer than accept Trump’s offer.
PRITZKER SAYS ‘ACTION WILL BE MET WITH A RESPONSE’ AFTER TRUMP THREATENS TO SEND NATIONAL GUARD TO CHICAGO
“Local Democrat leaders would rather knowingly put their residents in harms way than let President Trump help,” Jackson said in a Tuesday post on X. “These people are sick!”
Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. However, Pritzker remained staunch in his opposition to National Guard troops in Chicago following Trump’s social media posts.
“Just a lovely day here,” Pritzker said in a video posted to social media Tuesday. “No emergency, so Donald Trump understands, no emergency in the city of Chicago to send troops in.”
Separately, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in an August statement that crime is down in Chicago. He said the city in the past year has reduced homicides by more than 30%, robberies by 35% and shootings by almost 40%.
Even so, the White House has pointed to local reports that Chicago has had the most murders of any U.S. city for the past 13 years.
However, 2024 FBI data shows that Chicago does not have the most murders per capita and isn’t listed in the top five cities for murder per capita.
Pritzker previously has called Trump’s push to bring National Guard troops to Chicago “unconstitutional” and “un-American.”
GOV. PRITZKER SAYS TRUMP TRYING TO ‘MANUFACTURE A CRISIS’ AS ADMIN PLANS NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO CHICAGO
National Guard troops are reserve forces that are activated to handle state and federal operations, like natural disasters. State governments typically oversee their respective National Guard forces. However, the federal government oversees the District of Columbia National Guard.
In June, Trump deployed California National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration riots there — controversially circumventing the authority of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom, a Democrat, ultimately filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for federalizing the National Guard to respond to those riots. A federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday that Trump’s decision to deploy the troops to Los Angeles violated federal law.
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