Eric Trump told Newsmax on Monday that his father, President Donald Trump, is focused on making American cities safe, clean, and livable again — and that the turnaround seen in Washington, D.C., could be repeated in crime-plagued Chicago.
Eric Trump made the remarks during an interview with Newsmax host Carl Higbie on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." He was responding to criticism from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who accused the president of "threatening to go to war with an American city" over his comments on Chicago.
"What's my father saying? I want American cities to be safe. I want them to be clean. I want them to be prosperous," Eric Trump said. "I don't want graffiti. I want grass in the fields at the parks. I want little kids to be able to walk through without seeing some homeless guy expose himself to everybody. This is what's happening all over the place."
Eric Trump pointed to the sharp reduction in crime in Washington, D.C., following federal efforts there.
"Look at the difference in Washington, D.C., in a three-week period of time, in terms of crime," he said. "This problem can be solved. We saw the movie; we saw the case study of this. And we've seen it over the last 30 days. The problem is they don't have the will to do it."
He emphasized that the nation's police officers and federal law enforcement can deliver results when given the authority to act.
"The cops are incredible in this country. Law enforcement is incredible," Eric Trump said. "If you empower them to do a job, they will do the job. Then you stack on top of that what the federal government and obviously what the National Guard did, and it's a pretty unstoppable scene."
But he warned that constant attacks on law enforcement sap morale and make officers reluctant to serve.
"When you go after law enforcement, when you go after them personally for everything, when you attack them, when you undermine their profession, at some point they also give up and say, 'this crap isn't worth it,'" Eric Trump said.
President Trump on Sunday responded to Democrat criticism by denying he was going to war with Chicago.
"We're not going to war. We're going to clean up our cities. We're going to clean them up, so they don't kill five people every weekend. That's not war. That's common sense," the president said.
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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