Chicago mayor says it ‘wouldn’t be the first time’ Trump ‘unjustly’ called for a Black man to be jailed

Mayor Brandon Johnson blasted Donald Trump, saying, “This president is working outside the bounds of the Constitution.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson fired back at Donald Trump after the president, in a social media post, called for him to be jailed over the Trump administration’s continued clashes with the city and state of Illinois.

“First of all, this president is unstable, unhinged, a double-minded individual that, quite frankly, is a threat to our democracy,” said Johnson during an interview with CNN.

He added, “It’s certainly not the first time that Donald Trump has called for the arresting of a Black man unjustly.”

While the Chicago mayor did not expound on his comments, Trump does have a history of calling for the arrest of Black men, most notably former President Barack Obama.

In July, Trump and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard accused Obama and his administration officials of engaging in a “treasonous conspiracy” against the Trump 2016 campaign. However, no actual evidence was presented to suggest that Obama, or any former Obama White House official, had committed a crime.

In 1989, Trump called for the execution of five Black and Latino boys—known as the Central Park Five—who were falsely convicted for the rape and assault of a white woman in New York City. Trump repeated those claims during the 2024 election, despite the five men being exonerated in 2002 due to DNA evidence. The men, now known as the “Exonerated Five,” have since filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump.

Mayor Johnson, who, along with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, continues to clash with the Trump administration over its surge of federal agents in Chicago, execution of mass immigration raids, and pending deployment of National Guard troops.

Johnson blasted Trump’s move to deploy the military to Chicago, telling CNN, “This president is working outside the bounds of the Constitution.”

“We know this is illegal, unconstitutional, that’s already been proven in the courts in Oregon, and we fully expect the same ruling to take place here in the state of Illinois,” said the mayor.

Citing executive orders he signed to protect the rights of Chicagoans, Johnson said he and city leaders are “defending our fundamental right to our democracy.”

He added, “This president has made it very clear he doesn’t support this constitution, and if Congress, which our framers designed for Congress–and the Supreme Court and the courts–to provide checks and balance, if Congress will not hold this president accountable, I will.”