Washington — President Trump on Friday said Chicago will probably be the federal government’s next target for its anti-crime effort, following the ongoing operation in Washington, D.C., with New York City after that.
The remarks were the president’s clearest indication yet that he intends to bring his crusade against crime beyond the corridors of his direct authority in Washington. Mr. Trump also said he’s willing to bring in the “regular military” into the District of Columbia, not just the National Guard, which would be a significant escalation of the president’s use of the military on U.S. soil.
“I really am honored that the National Guard has done such an incredible job working with the police,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday. “And we haven’t had to bring in the regular military, which we’re willing to do if we have to. And after we do this, we’ll go to another location, and we’ll make it safe, also.”
“Chicago’s a mess,” he continued. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next, that’ll be our next one after this.”
He said “the people in Chicago” are “screaming for us to come.”
“They’re wearing red hats … African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please, President Trump, come to Chicago. Please.’ I did great with the Black vote, as you know. And they want something to happen, so, I think Chicago will be our next, and then we’ll help with New York.”
“When we’re ready we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago, just like we did D.C.,” the president added.
Mr. Trump said the federal government may also intervene in San Francisco, among other cities.
It’s not yet clear how the federal government or National Guard would be able to intervene in a city that’s not Washington, D.C., where the federal government has unique authority over the district.
State National Guard units are under the control of the governor, not Mr. Trump, and he does not have the power to temporarily take control of city police departments outside of D.C. Illinois, New York and California all have Democratic governors and mayors who would be unlikely to go along with Mr. Trump’s plans. Mr. Trump made the comments in the Oval Office Friday, during an announcement about the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits military troops from participating in certain civil law enforcement actions, except as expressly authorized by law.
Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
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