* Background from yesterday is here if you need it. Today…
Transcript…
[Washington, DC] is going to be so safe. It’ll be the safest place on Earth.
And we’ll do the same thing in Chicago. But I’d like to be asked, as opposed to just going in and doing it. Because you know, when you go in and do it, then they start screaming, ‘Oh, he shouldn’t be, we don’t need him.’ We’re doing so well. And then the better we do, they take credit for it. So it’s really pretty unfair.
Again, he says so many things that your guess is as good as anyone’s about what he ends up doing, so I’m not gonna bother trying.
…Adding… Later in the press conference…
So I would have much more respect for Pritzker if he’d call me up and say, ‘I have a problem. Can you help me fix it?’ I would be so happy to do it. I don’t love - not that I don’t have I would the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the President of the United States. If I think our country is in danger, and it is in danger in these cities, I can do it. No problem going in and solving, you know, his difficulties - But it would be nice if they’d call and they say, ‘Would you do it?’
* You may have missed it late yesterday afternoon, but Derek Douglas, the President of the Civic Committee and the Commercial Club of Chicago (which counts among its membership some of the most successful businesspeople in the city) listed some good reasons for why the idea of just barging in with the military is a bad idea. Excerpts from his remarks yesterday…
Deploying federal troops or federalizing the National Guard without engaging state and local government, business, philanthropic and community leaders - the ones who understand Chicago’s needs and are on the ground working daily to make our city safer - is unprecedented and unwarranted. […]
That said, we do believe there is a critical role for federal support that could benefit our city. What we need is aligned action. That’s what we have going on in Chicago.
What we don’t need are disruptions to our economy and our businesses. Active duty military patrolling the streets of our city sends the wrong message and risks slowing our economy and disrupting the progress we’ve made together. It will impact businesses’ bottom lines and ability to operate efficiently. It will impact tourism and employees getting to their jobs. It will impact morale.
The kind of sweeping, uncoordinated, indiscriminate action being threatened sets a dangerous precedent, and we stand with our city and all Chicagoans to encourage the administration to productively engage with us, to help us continue to make progress on this critical issue.
* By the way, CNN debunked some of President Trump’s claims about DC crime. Via Mediaite…
BORIS SANCHEZ: Really important point to keep in mind. Kim, please stand by. I want to bring in CNN’s Senior Reporter, Daniel Dale, to fact check some of the claims that Trump specifically made about crime across the United States and in the nation’s Capitol. Daniel, Trump said that it’s the first time in many years that D.C. has gone a week, I think he said 11 days, without a murder. Is that accurate?
DANIEL DALE: It is not accurate. So of course, it’s fantastic. There has currently been the 11-day stretch without a reported homicide, but that also happened earlier this year. In February and March, there was a 16-day stretch with no reported homicides in the district. So the president is exaggerating again, and that wasn’t his only false claim, guys, on the subject of D.C. crime. He said that it was an all-time crime high when he took office. He said the worst day was the day he came back, not even close to true. D.C. has not been even close to the all-time highs of the early 1990s.
Now, I know he’s raised questions as the D.C. Police Union has about the validity of some D.C. crime stats. But let’s just look at murder as an example, the least falsifiable kind of crime. D.C. had 187 homicides in 2024. It was over 470 in a couple years in the early ’90s. So no, nowhere close to an all-time peak.
- levivoted4judy - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 2:22 pm:
As this idea of the National Guard coming to Chicago gains legs and media attention, I’ve been thinking more and more about the 2012 NATO conference where anarchists from the U.S. and other countries came to Chicago to wreak havoc and chaos. All it could take is one incident to set if off. I hope the Feds do not trigger this.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 2:24 pm:
===gains legs===
Appears to be losing its legs in the past 24 hours.
- JoanP - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 2:28 pm:
= CNN debunked some of President Trump’s claims about DC crime =
The worst crime wave in D.C. occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, under Trump’s watch, and he pardoned the criminals.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 2:31 pm:
@JoanP for the win.
- Joseph M - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 2:44 pm:
Re: “It’ll be the safest place on Earth. And we’ll do the same thing in Chicago. But I’d like to be asked, as opposed to just going in and doing it.”
Imagine an alternate universe where POTUS actually cared about the well being of Chicagoans, and was offering to send in federal help for our overwhelming backlog of toxic lead service line replacements.
“Lead pipes are a danger across the country, where about 9 million lead service lines need to be replaced to adhere to the new requirements. About a million of those are in Illinois—the most of any state in the country. Among the five U.S. cities estimated to have the most lead pipes—Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Detroit and Milwaukee—only Chicago has yet to adopt the latest federal deadline. The rest plan to replace their lead pipes within a decade of 2027.”
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26062025/chicago-lead-pipe-replacement-plan/
- Jerry - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 2:44 pm:
Congress, the branch of Government according to the Constitution of the United States of America that appropriates money has cut funding. The members of Congress are the people designated in our society to make this request. This is different from managing a motel where the maid asks the manager for more cleaning supplies. It’s obvious that the President has no clue and that Governors don’t just call and ask for things.
- BE - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:05 pm:
==”not that I don’t have I would the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the President of the United States.”==
Amazing how he has all of these ‘rights’ that no other president has had to use/abuse.
- here we go again - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:07 pm:
Democrats terrified Orange Man might get credit for saving lives. Please seek help folks. Wallowing in hate is so unhealthy. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
- AlfondoGonz - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:13 pm:
JoanP, as usual spot on. But might I say that it happened not only on Trump’s watch but at Trump’s behest.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:21 pm:
=Democrats terrified Orange Man might get credit for saving lives. =
Sick burn man.
Saving lives on the mag mile, one of the toughest streets in the world…for your credit cars that is.
- Beans Matter - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:23 pm:
Illinois Attorney General sure spends a lot of his time and resources on Hopping on the National issues….maybe look around the Land of Lincoln a little more…
- Dotnonymous x - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:25 pm:
- Democrats terrified Orange Man might get credit for saving lives. -
Your bait is weak…try again.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:30 pm:
===Hopping on the National issues===
All of those issues have a direct impact on Illinois.
But, yeah, the Adams County sheriff seems to require some looks.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:31 pm:
==Wallowing in hate is so unhealthy==
Umm, that’s pretty much the entire schtick of Orange Man. The lack of self awareness of some of you people amazes me.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:37 pm:
===Democrats terrified Orange Man might get credit===
According to the POTUS, he’s afraid it’s the Dems who would get credit, which is why he now wants to be asked.
Up your reading comprehension.
- Pundent - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:46 pm:
=Democrats terrified Orange Man might get credit for saving lives.=
Here’s the thing. We know (because he told us) that if Donald Trump deploys the National Guard to a city it will quickly become the safest city. But governors should ask for this help. What I’m struggling with is that there are many cities in red states with crime rates far worse than Chicago. Given the problems facing these cities, and the President’s unquestionable ability to make them safe, why aren’t these mayors and governors calling on the President to deploy the Guard? It would seem like a win-win for all involved.
- Mason County - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:48 pm:
Unwise to send troops (Federal or NG) to Chicago. Even a bad idea poliuitcally for Trump and his insiders should tell him so.
If there were major riots that might be different.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:49 pm:
If anything, they should deploy to Top Golf in Naperville; they find guns in cars in the parking lot all the time.
- low level - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:49 pm:
There was more crime in Chicago the first time he was President from 2017-2021 yet he did not bring in the National Guard then. I wonder what changed?
- Remember the Alamo II - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:51 pm:
=== Democrats terrified Orange Man might get credit for saving lives. ===
The fact that you believe that statement is part of the problem. You don’t understand Democrats concerns, you don’t understand how government works, and you clearly don’t understand what the National Guard would do if they were deployed in Chicago.
Your gaslighting, similar to that of President Trump, is despicable. The President actually has no concern for the people of Chicago. If he did, he would not be cutting funding for programs that actually work to reduce violent crime in Chicago. He only cares about scoring political points with his base and to gin up support for his military-based authoritarian state.
=== I would the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the President of the United States. ===
This right here is the most terrifying statement of the whole thread. The fact that there are people out there who support this way of thinking is beyond me. President Trump has shown that he wants to punish his opponents and protect his allies — regardless of what they do.
The fact that anyone believes that Trump cares about law enforcement or the people they serve is absurd. He pardoned the January 6th rioters. Just think about that for a second before you shoot off your nonsense.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 3:56 pm:
Also, is it just me, or does this have the same sort of vibes as when Rod wanted to deploy the state police, or the guard, or something with special uniforms to Chicago?
I may be remembering that wrong, but it seems plausible.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 4:06 pm:
===I may be remembering that wrong===
Mayor Richard Daley mocked Governor Rod Blagojevich on Friday for offering to send extra police to Chicago while the state is cutting its law enforcement budget.
Blagojevich surprised Daley on July 16 by offering to send state police or even the National Guard to battle “out of control” crime in Chicago.
“What help can he give me? What help is he talking about?” Daley said at a news conference. “State police have no money. They’re being cut.”
He read a list of cuts Blagojevich has made to the state budget, including almost $3 million from the state police, $4.8 million from the Corrections Department, $7 million from the Department of Juvenile Justice and $600,000 from the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority.
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/2008/08/01/chicago-mayor-mocks-blagojevich-s/44221760007/
- CA-HOON - Tuesday, Aug 26, 25 @ 4:12 pm:
==Up your reading comprehension.==
You ask too much of them, Rich.