House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday endorsed President Donald Trump's proposal to use crime-ridden cities as "training grounds" for U.S. troops, describing the move as a "win-win scenario" that would both boost military readiness and restore order in urban areas, The Hill reported.

Johnson said during an appearance on CNN's "Inside Politics" that he regularly speaks with Trump and believes the president's plan centers on deploying National Guard members to Democrat-led cities struggling with crime.

"I can tell you what's in the president's mind and heart, because I talked to him all the time, daily, about this. He's very proud of the fact that we have brought crime down in Washington, D.C. You could go from your car to the studio today without fear of somebody jumping you," Johnson said.

"It's a win-win scenario because National Guardsmen are proud of that duty that they performed, and they brought crime down dramatically in D.C. and all of us are safe. Our staffs are safe. They're not walking in fear right now. I think we should do that in every major city run by Democrats who aren't serious," he added.

Trump, speaking Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia to top generals and admirals, declared a "war from within" and said the military should be used to confront violence in major cities.

"I told [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth], we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military — National Guard, but our military, because we're going into Chicago very soon," Trump said. "That's a big city with an incompetent governor."

When asked directly about Trump's comments, Johnson said, "I don't know what's being implied by that," but emphasized that the National Guard has been effective in restoring order when deployed in the past.

Republican lawmakers have largely rallied behind the idea, framing it as a matter of law and order. Trump has already deployed Guard troops in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, with Marines also assisting in the latter city. He has signaled plans for Chicago and Memphis. Troops were deployed to Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday.

Democrats, however, denounced the proposal as a dangerous precedent that could escalate tensions. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., called the president an "idiot" for suggesting cities be used as training sites.

"Trump doesn't actually understand how the military works," Gallego said on CNN. "The first thing it's going to be is that most U.S. citizens will stand against that in civil protests, and you'll have many of us joining them in that if they try to do such a thing."

Former President Barack Obama also weighed in earlier this year, warning that the use of active-duty forces on domestic soil risks undermining civil liberties.

"The erosion of basic principles like due process and the expanding use of our military on domestic soil puts the liberties of all Americans at risk, and should concern Democrats and Republicans alike," Obama wrote on social media.

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