BREAKING: Trump Reiterates Plan to Deploy Forces to Chicago, Illinois Governor Condemns Move
CHICAGO, IL – September 2, 2024 – Former President Donald Trump on Monday once again voiced his intention to deploy U.S. forces to Chicago, despite repeated objections from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and widespread public opposition. Trump claimed “we can do the same thing” in Chicago as he did in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, stating, “we’ll fix chicago,” and that his management is “waiting for a call from Chicago.”
The renewed push comes as the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday the launch of an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago,targeting “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
governor Pritzker sharply criticized the Trump administration’s approach, stating via a post on X (formerly Twitter), “This requires support and coordination – yet we’ve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks. Rather of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump administration’s focused on scaring Illinoisians.”
Pritzker’s office confirmed they have not received any “formal dialog or facts” from the Trump administration regarding potential troop deployments,according to spokesperson Matt Hill. “Like the public and press, we are learning of their operations through social media as they attempt to produce a reality television show,” Hill saeid in an email. “If he cared about delivering real solutions for Illinois, then we would have heard from him.”
Trump’s comments echo previous statements regarding sending military forces to Democratic-led cities. He has pointed to deployments in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles as successes, claiming crime is “virtually nothing” in the nation’s capital. However, a federal judge last week ruled similar deployments were illegal, asserting Trump was attempting to “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”
During his remarks Monday, Trump downplayed instances of domestic violence, stating they are “much lesser things” that should not be factored into assessing the effectiveness of his crime-fighting efforts. “things that take place in the home, they call crime. They’ll do anything they can to find something,” he lamented. “If a man has a little fight with the wife,they say this was a crime. Now, I can’t claim 100%, but we are a safe city.”
A recent CBS/YouGov poll indicates that most Americans oppose the idea of sending National Guard troops to cities, though the Republican base largely supports Trump’s initiative as a means to reduce crime.
Pritzker, in a social media post Sunday, accused the Trump administration of trampling on citizens’ constitutional rights “in the fake guise of fighting crime,” and questioned the potential consequences of normalizing such actions.”Once Donald Trump gets the citizens of this nation cozy with the current atrocities committed under the colour of law – what comes next?” he asked.
