Chicago mayor resists Trump’s National Guard threat, citing legal, moral concerns

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is pushing back against President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy the National Guard to the city, denouncing the move as an unconstitutional overreach and preparing legal options to block any military presence.

Johnson emphasized that the city is seeing significant improvements in public safety without federal military intervention, NBC News reports.

“The guard is not needed,” he said. “This is not the role of our military. The brave men and women who signed up to serve our country did not sign up to occupy American cities.”

Citing police data, Johnson highlighted a 31% decline in murders, a 36% drop in shootings, and a 26% decrease in vehicle thefts compared to last year.

“The things that we’re doing in Chicago by investing in people, youth employment, mental health care, services, building more affordable homes, making sure that our detectives bureau has all the resources that it needs ... that’s why we’re seeing the results that we are experiencing right now,” Johnson added.

“Occupying our cities with the military — that’s not how we build safe and affordable communities.”

He further questioned Trump’s motives, criticizing cuts to federal anti-violence programs, food assistance, and Medicaid.

“The National Guard is not going to put food on people’s table. The National Guard is not going to reduce unemployment,” he said.

Trump claimed on August 22 from the Oval Office that “people in the city are screaming for us to come,” adding, “When we’re ready, and we’ll go in and we’ll straighten out Chicago, just like we did DC Chicago is very dangerous.”

However, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and local officials have aligned with Johnson in resisting the move.

Pritzker accused Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power.”

By Vafa Guliyeva