After Washington, Trump says Chicago next in federal crime crackdown

United States President Donald Trump said Friday that Chicago will be the next city his administration focuses on in its federal crime crackdown and suggested a longer campaign in Washington, DC.

“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.”

Trump credited his move to federalize Washington’s police force and send in National Guard troops with reducing crime, pointing to a week without murders as a “miracle,” though such weeks have happened in the city several times this year. He said he could keep Guard troops there “as long as I want” by declaring a national emergency.

More than 1,900 Guard members from DC and several states have been deployed in the capital, according to Joint Task Force-DC.

Trump also criticized DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and threatened stronger federal control. “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,” he said.

He rejected polling that showed residents opposed the deployment of federal forces, calling it “fake news.” “They’re wearing red hats, African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please, President Trump, come to Chicago,’” he added.

Trump attacked Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson as “incompetent” and said the city had become more dangerous under his leadership. “When we’re ready, we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago just like we did DC,” he said.

How such an operation in Chicago would work remains unclear. Unlike DC, which is under federal authority in certain areas, cities have greater control over their own police. Trump also appeared to confuse the National Guard deployment in DC with his administration’s authority to take over the local police. Under the District of Columbia’s Home Rule Act, the federal government can only control the city’s police for up to 30 days during emergencies, unless Congress extends that power. Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge last week that without congressional action, Trump’s order would expire.

Trump has argued that federal involvement in DC policing must last longer to reduce crime. “It’s one thing to get them out, it’s another thing to keep them out for a long period of time,” he said. “That’s going to take more than 30 days.”

He also said he had spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune about seeking $2 billion for DC improvement projects, calling the funding “very easy to get.”

(CNN)

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