Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson criticized President Donald Trump's idea to send National Guard troops to the city, calling the idea "uncalled for" and "offensive" while defending Chicago's "progress" in reducing violent crime, The Hill reported.
Trump told reporters Friday that his administration may expand its crime crackdown beyond Washington, D.C., and send federal troops into other cities led by Democrats, including Chicago.
"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," Trump said from the Oval Office on Friday.
Johnson, a Democrat, fired back in a written statement later in the day, warning that such a move would be "unlawful" and would undermine local efforts underway.
"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 said.
The mayor pointed to crime statistics showing significant year-over-year reductions. "In the past year alone, we have reduced homicides by more than 30%, robberies by 35%, and shootings by almost 40%," Johnson added.
On Tuesday, Trump doubled the number of National Guard troops in the nation's capital to nearly 1,750 soldiers after federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department and deploying 800 Guard troops under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.
The White House stated that the operation had resulted in 700 arrests since Aug. 7.
The Department of Justice has opened an inquiry into whether Washington police manipulated crime statistics to portray the district as safer than it is.
"We're of course looking into this, because the reality is that we know that D.C. has been an incredibly unsafe place to live, for a very long time," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
Johnson said Chicago and other cities are already making gains without federal intervention.
"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 said in an interview with WGN.
"We know that our communities are safest when we fully invest in housing, community safety, and education," Johnson said. "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."
Democrats across the country have echoed Johnson's concerns, framing Trump's proposals as politically motivated.
Chicago's mayor warned that federal intervention would threaten "the historic progress we have made" and dismissed the president's possible move as heavy-handed and out of step with the city's needs.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.