Chicago is up next for the National Guard. 'They're screaming for us,' says Trump
CHICAGO — After the federal takeover of the Washington, DC, police to combat the “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor,” President Donald Trump has now set his sights on Chicago.
“Chicago's a mess," said Trump during a meeting at the Oval Office with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Aug. 22. "You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. We'll straighten that one out probably next. That'll be our next one after this.”
Trump's comments come at a point where Chicago has seen significant reductions in violent crime, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson's office. High-profile mass shootings continue to rock the city. But overall crime has declined, including a 30% drop in homicides, the mayor's office said. Deploying the National Guard could potentially undermine the city's progress, Johnson said.
"The problem with the President's approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound," said the city's progressive mayor. "Unlawfully deploying the National Guard to Chicago has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement when we know that trust between police and residents is foundational to building safer communities. An unlawful deployment would be unsustainable and would threaten to undermine the historic progress we have made."
Chicagoans however "are screaming for us to come," Trump said.
"They're wearing red hats just like this one. But they're wearing red hats," he said. "African American ladies, beautiful ladies are saying, please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please."
The president's comments about Chicago come after he he deployed 800 National Guard troops in Washington DC, on Aug. 11, declaring a public safety emergency.
Several Republican states including Ohio, Mississippi, West Virginia and Louisiana have sent guardsmen to the capital to support the Trump Administration's efforts. The troops are deployed at tourist-heavy locations such as the National Mall and transit hubs such as Union Station and Metro stops to aid local law enforcement.
'People are NOT begging': Illinois governor
Mayor Johnson pushed back, arguing that the promises he campaigned and won on were what Chicagoans wanted.
"We know that our communities are safest when we fully invest in housing, community safety, and education," the city's freshman mayor said. "The National Guard will not alleviate the housing crisis. It will not put food in the stomachs of the 1 in 4 children that go to bed hungry every night in Chicago. The National Guard will not fully-fund our public schools or provide mental healthcare or substance abuse treatment to Chicagoans in need."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a frequent political sparring partner for Trump, shot back at claims that Chicago wanted the president to deploy the National Guard. Americans want cheaper groceries, access to healthcare and the release of the Epstein files, Pritzker said in a post on X.
"Things People are NOT begging for: 1. An authoritarian power grab of major cities."
Pritzker has taken a firm stance against the White House’s recent deployment of the military in Democractically led cities, emphasizing that the president has no legal authority to send in troops without the governor’s signoff.
"Let’s not lie to the public, you and I both know you have no authority to take over Chicago," the Illinois governor said when Trump raised the possibility of sending in the guard earlier in August.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration over the White House's deployment of thousands of National Guard members to Los Angeles without the governor's approval. Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a Newsom office spokesperson, said a ruling in the case has not been issued yet.
DC police data shows crime down since National Guard arrived
After Chicago, Trump said New York will be next to get “help”.
Since the deployment of the troops, carjackings in Washington, D.C. have decreased by 83%, robberies by 46%, car thefts by 21%, and overall violent crime by 22% compared to the previous seven days, according to Metropolitan Police Department’s police union.
Violent crime in D.C. dropped 26% through Aug. 8, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department. However, the city had the fourth-highest homicide rate among U.S. cities, after St. Louis, New Orleans and Detroit, at 27.3 per 100,000 residents in 2024.
Trump took a victory lap in DC on Aug. 21 and said during a meeting with law enforcement that his actions had made the city "safe."