Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images News / Getty Images
President Donald Trump is eyeing Chicago as the next city to face a sweeping federal crackdown on crime.
On Friday (August 22), Trump said his administration would be targeting Chicago following his takeover of the Washington, D.C. police and deployment of roughly 2,000 National Guard troops, per CNN.
“We’ll straighten that one out, probably next, that will be our next one after this,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “I think Chicago will be our next and then we’ll help with New York.”
Trump claimed that his takeover of D.C. has led to a reduction in crime, calling the recent week without murder a "miracle." The president also noted that he could keep National Guard troops in the capital "as long as I want" by declaring a national emergency.
“It’s one thing to get them out, it’s another thing to keep them out for a long period of time,” Trump said. “That’s going to take more than 30 days.”
On Friday, Trump also threatened D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, saying that if she "doesn't get her act straight," the federal government would take over.
“I’m tired of listening to these people say how safe it was before we got here. It was unsafe. It was horrible,” he said. “Mayor Bowser better get her act straight, or she won’t be mayor very long.”
The president dismissed criticism of his takeover as "fake news," claiming that he has support from "African American ladies."
“They’re wearing red hats, African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please, President Trump, come to Chicago,’” he said.
In response to Trump threatening to take over Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the president's approach was "uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound."
“We take President Trump’s statements seriously, but to be clear, the City has not received any formal communication from the Trump administration regarding additional federal law enforcement or military deployments to Chicago," the mayor said.
Johnson also warned that “unlawfully deploying the National Guard to Chicago has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement."
It remains unclear how a federal crackdown in Chicago would work. Unlike Washington, D.C., Chicago is not under federal jurisdiction, meaning Trump would need coordination from state and local officials to deploy troops or seize control of local policing.
On Friday, Trump described Johnson as "incompetent," adding, “When we’re ready, we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago just like we did DC.”
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