Trump says Chicago is next for federal crime crackdown, claims Black women begged him to come

Trump’s targeting of Chicago doubles down on previous threats to take federal action against cities led by Black mayors.

President Donald Trump said he has his sights on Chicago as up next for a takeover, as his administration escalates tensions with cities run by Black Democratic mayors over crime allegations.

While applauding the National Guard, which he deployed in D.C. amid a “crime emergency,” the president declared on Aug. 11, Trump praised the troops for an “incredible job working with the police.”

“We haven’t had to bring in the regular military, which we’re willing to do,” President Trump said on Friday inside the Oval Office. “And after we do this, we’ll go to another location…We’re going to make our country very safe. We’re going to make our cities very, very safe.”

He specifically called out Chicago, which he characterized as “a mess.”

“You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out, probably next. That’ll be our next one after this, and it won’t even be tough,” said the president.

Trump claimed that Chicago residents themselves are “screaming for us to come.” He continued, “They’re wearing red hats just like this…African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, ‘Please, President Trump, come to Chicago. Please.'”

The president then claimed he “did great with the Black vote,” adding, “They want something to happen. So I think Chicago will be our next.”

While Trump did make inroads with Black voters, nearly 85% of Black voters supported his opponent in the 2024 presidential election, former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump signaling that he will target Chicago–which could include the deployment of the National Guard, as he did in Los Angeles–doubles down on previous threats to take federal action against cities with large Black and Latino populations and led by Black mayors.

Angela Angel, senior advisor for Black Lives Matter PAC, told theGrio weeks ago during Trump’s deployment of National Guard in Los Angeles, that it was a “testing ground” for cities like Chicago.

Angel said any perceived help from the Trump administration has come in the form of “terrifying” actions such as “masked ICE agents kicking down doors without warrants, kidnapping American citizens and immigrants alike without due process, and federal troops terrorizing Black communities for the crime of existing.”

The political operative and organizer told theGrio, “Let’s be clear: this isn’t about safety. This is occupation. We’re watching Black activists slammed to the ground and brutalized for allegedly evading metro fares. This isn’t law enforcement. It’s state-sanctioned terrorism with a badge.”

The Black Lives Matter leader pointed to an irony in history, given that, in 1965, federal troops were sent to “protect Black people from white supremacist violence,” referring to President Lyndon B. Johnson deploying troops to protect civil rights protesters in Alabama ahead of the Selma to Montgomery march.

Now, Angel said, “In 2025, Trump is using troops to carry out violence against Black and Brown communities. That’s the reversal. That’s the danger.”

Last week, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blasted Trump’s crackdown in D.C. and the president’s criticisms of the Windy City, telling Democracy Now!, “The fundamental difference between the authoritarianism that’s coming from the White House versus the collective community approach that we’re leading here in Chicago is that the president is looking to resuscitate the sins and the evil of the past, and the city of Chicago is moving progressively forward.”

Johnson touted the actions his administration has taken to address crime in the city, including investing in mental health and behavioral health. As a result, Chicago has seen a 30% decline in homicides, a 40% reduction in shootings, and a nearly 35% decline in robberies.

“There is certainly more work to be done, but we’re not going to transform our cities if we revert back to a time in the past where the addiction of jails and incarceration has not led to safer communities,” said Mayor Johnson.

Accusing Trump of “hypocrisy,” he added, “If he was serious about transforming our cities, he would not have taken over $800 million out of the budget that was designed for violence prevention.”