President Trump criticized Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Tuesday, pointing to crime statistics in Chicago days after the president threatened to send National Guard troops to the city.
“A really DEADLY weekend in Chicago. 6 DEAD, 27 HURT IN CRIME SPREES ALLOVER THE CITY. Panic stricken Governor Pritzker says that crime is under control, when in fact it is just the opposite. He is an incompetent Governor who should call me for HELP,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Mayor Johnson is no better. Make Chicago Great Again!” he added, referring to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D).
Last week, the president suggested he would deploy National Guard troops in Chicago to fight crime after deploying hundreds of National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., and earlier this year in Los Angeles.
“We’re going to make our cities very, very safe,” Trump said at the time. “Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent, and we’ll straighten that one out probably next.”
“That will be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough,” he continued, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.
However, Pritzker and others have warned the president not to come to the Windy City.
“Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here,” Pritzker said at a Tuesday press conference.
“What President Trump is doing is unprecedented and unwarranted,” he said. “It is illegal, it is unconstitutional, it is un-American.”
The Democratic governor said Trump was “searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city in a blue state to try to intimidate his political rivals.”
Johnson, meanwhile, said Sunday that crime rates in the city were steadily decreasing following community-based efforts.
“In Chicago, we have effectively reduced all forms of violent crime by doing what works: constitutional policing, violence prevention, and investing in our communities. This past year alone, we have seen a more than 30% reduction in homicides, a 35% reduction in robberies, and an almost 40% reduction in shootings,” Johnson said in a statement.
“We need to keep building on this work.”
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