Democratic lawmakers and President Donald Trump clashed Wednesday over the president’s plans to send National Guard members into cities to clean up crime.
In recent days, Trump has ramped up talk about deploying troops to cities, primarily those led by Democrats, to stop violent crime. As Chicago braces for possible National Guard presence on the heels of Trump’s statements, Democrats accused him of federal overreach.
During a press conference Wednesday with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Trump criticized Baltimore for doing a “terrible job” with crime and said there are people in Democratic cities asking him to send the National Guard to help.
“The politicians are not in tune with the people. The people in Chicago, the people in Baltimore, the people in all of the places we talked about, they want to see us there,” he said. “And I think we’re pretty much waiting till we get asked.”
“We’re doing them a big service,” Trump added.
His remarks come just a day after he said he was “going in” to Chicago, despite Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s opposition to the idea. Pritzker told residents that a federal presence would be coming soon and to be alert. He said he would never ask Trump to send National Guard troops to Chicago and instead wants federal dollars put toward crime prevention programs in his state.
Other Democrats besides Pritzker have been outspoken about Trump’s deployment. Democratic members of the House held a “No Troops on Our Streets” press conference outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning.
Washington has entered its fourth week with federal law enforcement members in the city. Trump has championed the effort, saying there is zero crime in the city and residents feel safer. Trump invoked the Home Rule Act and federalized the city’s law enforcement, allowing National Guard members to increase their presence in Washington.
While Washington does not have voting representation in Congress, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, represents the district in the House. Norton joined other lawmakers for a press conference against Trump’s actions on Wednesday.
“President Trump has used D.C. residents as props in a political play to showcase his own power. While the president claims that federal control of D.C. is necessary to combat crime, his own actions severely jeopardize public safety in the district,” she said.
Norton has been pushing for Washington to gain statehood, so it cannot be as easily changed by the Trump administration. She called on members of Congress to pass the statehood bill she introduced into law.
“More than 700,000 people count themselves … as D.C. residents. We are Americans worthy and capable of the same autonomy granted to the residents of the states,” Norton said. “Our local police force should not be subjected to the federalization and action that wouldn’t be possible for any other police department in the country.”
Norton was joined by lawmakers from Illinois, Maryland, California and New York, all states that Trump has mentioned when talking about an increased National Guard presence.
On Tuesday, Trump said he would deploy National Guard members to Chicago. Rep. Delia C. Ramirez, D-Ill., who represents parts of Chicago, organized the press conference Wednesday with the American Civil Liberties Union to strongly condemn Trump’s plan.
“We understand that whether it’s LA, D.C., Chicago or Baltimore, Trump’s deployment of thousands of armed federal agents and military personnel into the nation’s capital and other cities is the action of a wannabe dictator,” Ramirez said. “For him, Donald Trump, abusing the power of the National Guard is not about protecting public safety. It’s about control. It’s about threatening diverse, successful, Democratic-led cities like Chicago that refuse to bow down to authoritarianism.”
Still, it remains unclear if Trump plans to follow through on his plan to send troops to Chicago.
He deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles in June after declaring the anti-immigration enforcement protests there were an emergency, and used Washington’s Home Rule Act in August. It’s unclear what Trump’s justification for sending federal enforcement to Chicago would be, but it would likely set up a legal battle.
Trump, during his remarks Wednesday, said he “could” drive down crime in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, like he has done in Washington.
“We’re making that determination now. Do we go to Chicago? Do we go to a place like New Orleans?” he asked.
New Orleans, the largest city in Louisiana, is the first state Trump has mentioned in regard to the National Guard and crime that is led by a Republican. He quickly pivoted back to Chicago, however, and said he could “straighten” the city out.
“All they have to do is ask us to go to Chicago,” he said, later adding, “But I’ll tell you who is supporting us, the people of Chicago.”