President Donald Trump said Friday that Chicago will be the next city that his administration targets for a federal crackdown on crime and suggested a longer and more intense campaign in the nation’s capital.
“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.”
The president has credited his federal takeover of Washington, DC’s police force and deployment of the National Guard there with driving down crime in the city — touting a weeklong stretch without any murders as a “miracle” despite the fact that such weeks have occurred in DC multiple times so far this year.
He said he could keep National Guard members in the city “as long as I want” by declaring a national emergency, a prospect likely to unnerve city residents. More than 1,900 National Guard troops from multiple states — including DC, West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana and Tennessee guards — have been mobilized in DC as of Thursday, according to Joint Task Force-DC.
Trump also took aim at DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and threatened to do more than just seize control of the police force if she didn’t “get her act straight.”
“I’m tired of listening to these people say how safe it was before we got here. It was unsafe. It was horrible. And Mayor Bowser better get her act straight, or she won’t be mayor very long because we’ll take it over with the federal government running like it’s supposed to be run,” Trump said.
Trump dismissed polling that showed most city residents disapprove of the deployment of federal troops, calling it “fake news” and claiming that residents of Chicago and cities are clamoring for a similar law enforcement crackdown where they live.
“They’re wearing red hats, African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please, President Trump, come to Chicago,’” Trump said.
He attacked Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson as “incompetent,” claiming the city has grown dangerous on his watch and vowing to use the federal government to intervene.
“When we’re ready, we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago just like we did DC,” he said.
It was not immediately clear how a federal crackdown in Chicago would work and how closely it would resemble what has happened in DC. The district is not a part of any state and has restrictions on its ability to govern its own affairs, so the president has the ability to effectively federalize its police force.
In his comments Friday, Trump seemed to conflate keeping the National Guard deployed in DC with his takeover of the local police department. He said he could subvert a provision under the District of Columbia’s Home Rule Act, which says the federal government can seize control of the city’s police force for up to 30 days during emergencies. After that, he would need congressional approval to continue controlling the Metropolitan Police Department.
In a hearing last week, Justice Department attorneys told a federal judge that unless Congress extended Trump’s ability to effectively control Washington, DC’s police department, Trump’s order would expire.
But Trump, who pledged to eliminate crime when he deployed federal law enforcement earlier this month, has now suggested on multiple occasions that he’ll need to maintain his influence over the city’s policing for far longer to cut down on crime long-term.
“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.”
The president also said he’s already talked with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune about a planned request for $2 billion to funnel toward beautifying DC. He said that would be “very easy to get.”
By CNN
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