Chicago’s Democratic mayor went on the attack Friday after President Trump suggested he might send the National Guard into the city to crack down on spiraling crime.
Mayor Brandon Johnson released a strongly worded statement pushing back on Trump’s remarks, declaring that such an order would be “unlawful” and could undo progress the city has recently made in reducing crime.
“Certainly, we have grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the City of Chicago. The problem with the President’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound,” Johnson wrote in a Friday release.
Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, had hinted that Chicago was on his list of Democrat-run cities where federal reinforcements might soon arrive.
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“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,” the president said.
Trump suggested he could expand the deployment beyond Chicago and into New York City after tackling the Windy City.
“And the people in Chicago … are screaming for us to come. They are wearing red hats, just like this one,” Trump said, holding up his “Trump Was Right About Everything” hat.
“African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please, Mr. Trump, come to Chicago, please,’
he added.
“I did great with the black vote, as you know, and they want something to happen. So, I think Chicago will be next and then we’ll help with New York.”
Chicago’s crime numbers show mixed results. While homicides have dropped compared to recent years, the city still struggles with high levels of violence compared to other large American cities.
The city recorded 617 murders in 2023, down from 715 in 2022, but still higher than the tallies in New York City and Los Angeles, both larger in population.
Johnson countered Trump’s accusations by insisting that local leadership, not federal force, was responsible for driving down crime.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson:
"Trump is intimidated by the intellectual prowess of Black men."
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“Here’s the bottom line – as mayor of this city, and mayors across this country, we know exactly what it takes to drive down violence and crime in our cities because we’re actually doing it,” he told WGN in an interview.
He added that Trump’s rhetoric was “a shame” and claimed it undermined the city’s efforts at reform.
In his written statement, Johnson highlighted statistics he said show improvement. “The unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago would threaten to undermine the historic progress we have made,” he remarked.
“In the past year alone, we have reduced homicides by more than 30%, robberies by 35%, and shootings by almost 40%.”
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Trump’s comments came just days after his dramatic intervention in Washington, D.C. Last week, the president federalized the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under the Home Rule Act, bringing in 800 members of the National Guard to patrol the streets. By Tuesday, the number had doubled to roughly 1,750 personnel.
According to the White House, those actions produced immediate results. Since August 7, when the operation began, 556 arrests have been made in the capital.
Local police statistics show striking declines in violent crime when comparing the 11 days after Trump’s order to the 11 days before.
Carjackings fell 83 percent, vehicle thefts dropped 37 percent, robberies plunged 52 percent, violent crime overall sank 40 percent, and homicides were cut in half.
Democrats nationwide erupted in outrage at Trump’s federal intervention. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker accused the president of authoritarian behavior, even likening the moves to tactics used by Nazi Germany.
“I have talked about the fact that the Nazis in Germany in the ’30s tore down a constitutional republic in just 53 days,” Pritzker said. “It does not take much, frankly, and we have a president who seems hell-bent on doing just that.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responded to President Trump's threat to send the National Guard to Chicago on Monday.
It comes as Trump announced he's placing the Washington, D.C., police department under federal control to make the nation's capital safer. https://t.co/GRTzOyW2aP pic.twitter.com/QzZ7YthvAf
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) August 11, 2025
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore also issued a rebuke, declaring Trump’s announcement “lacks seriousness and is deeply dangerous.”
Moore accused the president of “simply using honorable men and women as pawns to distract us from his policies.”
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also weighed in, claiming Trump’s use of federal troops was more about politics than public safety.
“The president is doing this not in order to make the city safer – that’s the job of local law enforcement – but to solve his own political problems,” Buttigieg said.
He argued it was more than just a “distraction,” calling it a significant power grab.
Mayor Johnson, meanwhile, argued that real safety comes from investment in communities, not military deployments.
“We know that our communities are safest when we fully invest in housing, community safety, and education,” his statement read.
“There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them.”
Pritzker also took another swipe after Trump’s comments, claiming the president was manufacturing chaos to hide from his own political challenges.
Trump’s goal is to incite fear in our communities and destabilize existing public safety efforts — all to create a justification to further abuse his power.
He’s playing a game and creating a spectacle for the press to play along with.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) August 22, 2025
“As Donald Trump attempts to create chaos that distracts from his problems, we’ll call it out for what it is. Trump and Republicans are trying to distract from the pain they’re causing — from tariffs raising the prices of goods to stripping away healthcare and food from millions,” Pritzker said on X.
“The safety of the people of Illinois is my highest priority, so we will follow the law and stand up for the sovereignty of our state,” he added.
