President Trump has authorized a deployment of the National Guard to Chicago, the White House said, with a spokesman saying, “President Trump has authorized three hundred members of the National Guard to protect federal agents and federal property.”
The spokesman added, “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the fact that lawlessness continues to plague American cities.”
Chicago’s mayor already questioned in August that his city is awash in crime. Local police data show serious crimes such as murder were down 31 percent and shootings down 36 percent last year.
Mayor Brandon Johnson stated that the military is not meant to “occupy our cities.”
Trump also wanted to send two hundred members of the National Guard to Portland in the state of Oregon, but a judge put a stop to that on Saturday. The judge stated that Trump should wait because a lawsuit against the decision is still pending. That will last at least until Oct. 18.
Trump has long sought to deploy the National Guard in Democrat-run cities, arguing that they are lawless. The Republican president signed an order to send the National Guard to Memphis in mid-September and then reiterated that he wanted to take similar action in Chicago.
