Trump’s Chicago military threat met a fierce pushback
Gov. JB Pritzker pushes back Trump’s threat to deploy military forces to Chicago, calling it dangerous and unnecessary.
- President Trump said he is considering deploying the National Guard in Chicago after deploying it to fight crime in Washington, D.C.
- Trump claims that Chicago is a “disaster” and a “sacrificed field,” despite statistics showing a decline in violent crime.
- Illinois Governor JB Pretzker opposes the development and calls it an “authoritarian power glove.”
President Donald Trump strengthened the National Guard tactics in Washington, DC, after he said he would send troops to other cities.
First, Trump says, Chicago, Illinois.
Trump has long criticised Chicago as the fourth most populous city in the United States.
Violent crime in Chicago has fallen by 22% compared to the same period last year. This reflects a July report from the Criminal Justice Council that shows that most crime categories are declining in other cities around the US
Trump argues that Chicago is a “disaster” and a “slaying field” that allows the National Guard to be used, despite local leaders criticizing the idea. Here’s what you need to know:
Is Trump sending troops to Chicago, Illinois?
Trump has yet to mobilize the Chicago National Guard, but he threatened him.
“Chicago is in chaos,” Trump said on August 22. “You have an incompetent mayor. You’re terribly incompetent. Maybe next time you’ll straighten it. This will be the next thing,” he said.
However, when asked again on Monday, August 25th, he admitted that Chicago leadership did not welcome the move.
“I told some people, in a way, you really wanted to ask me to go,” he said. “You know? I hate going to the city and get treated horribly by corrupt and bad politicians. Like a guy like (jb pritzker)… a man is a disaster.”
Who is Illinois Governor JB Pretzker?
JB Pritzker was elected to the Illinois Governor’s Office in 2018. According to Forbes, the heir to the Hyatt Hotel property, he is one of the wealthiest politicians in the United States.
He has long been an outspoken critic of Trump, saying the president’s threat to send the National Guard to Chicago was his attempt to “manufacture a crisis.”
“The safety of Illinois people has always been my number one priority,” Pretzker said in an August 23 news release. “There is no emergency that ensures that the US President will make the Illinois State Guard federal, deploy National Guard from other states, or deploy active duty troops to our own borders.”
Trump is aiming for Pretzker with an oval office comment
Trump called Chicago “disaster” and “the killing field” in his oval office on August 25th.
He also laughed at Pretzker, saying sending the National Guard would “take away authoritarian power.”
“When there are slobs that criticize us before we go there, we criticize us before we go there — I’m Chicago is the murder field now, and they don’t accept it, and “We don’t need them, freedom, freedom, he’s a dictator. Trump said Monday. “I don’t like dictators. I’m not a dictator. I’m a very common sense and clever person.”
Why did Trump deploy the National Guard to DC?
Trump said he has taken over Washington, D.C. to deal with crime and homelessness, despite the fact that violent crime has fallen by 26% in 2025 compared to last year. He deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and moved to place Metropolitan Police Stations under the Department of Justice.
Trump has special authority to deploy the National Guard to DC. He did so in 2020.
“We’re not going to lose a city about this. This will go further. We’re starting very strongly from DC,” Trump said, adding that he might aim for other cities in the future.
The move has sparked severe criticism from Democrats around the country.
“D.C.’s violent crime is at the lowest level in 30 years. We changed our laws and strategies due to unacceptable spikes in 2023,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a televised community meeting on August 12.
On August 25th, Trump signed an executive order aimed at using the National Guard to support law enforcement.
Contributors: Stephen Spearry, Hannah Hadnal, Francesca Chambers, Philip M. Bailey, Zach Anderson, USA Today Network
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA Today Network. Contact her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and Tiktok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
