President Trump doubled down on his warnings to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Saturday to get Chicago crime under control or possibly be subjected to a federal law enforcement takeover.
“Six people were killed, and 24 people were shot, in Chicago last weekend, and JB Pritzker, the weak and pathetic Governor of Illinois, just said that he doesn’t need help in preventing CRIME,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “He is CRAZY!!! He better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming! MAGA. President DJT.”
Trump’s threat marks the latest in the back-and-forth between the president and the Democratic governor since Trump suggested he would deploy National Guard troops in Chicago in comments earlier this month.
Trump and Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, have traded barbs in recent days, with Trump often citing Chicago crime statistics in his notes.
‘Panic stricken Governor Pritzker says that crime is under control, when in fact it is just the opposite. He is an incompetent Governor who should call me for HELP,” Trump wrote in a similar post earlier this week.
Pritzker challenged Trump’s Chicago crime assertions in a Wednesday post on X, writing, “According to federal data, 13 of the top 20 cities in homicide rates have Republican governors. None of those cities are Chicago. 8 of the top 10 states in homicide rates are led by Republicans. None of those states are Illinois. And yet Trump is sending troops here.
Pritzker earlier this week cautioned Trump against sending the National Guard to the Windy City, as he has with other Democrat-run cities, including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Pritzker called the move “exactly the type of overreach that our country’s founders warned against.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) also hit back at Trump’s plans by signing a Saturday executive order detailing how the Windy City will attempt to respond to President Trump’s potential move.
“The City of Chicago will do everything in our power to defend our democracy and protect our communities. With this executive order, we send a resounding message to the federal government: we do not need nor want an unconstitutional and illegal military occupation of our city,” Johnson said in a statement.
Trump has touted a drop in crime in Washington, D.C., since he began his federal takeover of the nation’s capital earlier this month.
“DC is virtually, in just 14 days, a CRIME FREE ZONE. The people living and working there are ecstatic!!! President DJT,” Trump also wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
