President Donald Trump brushed off criticism that he is acting like a “dictator” by putting federal law enforcement in U.S. cities to control crime – but insisted that some people think the country could use one.
Shortly before signing executive orders that intend to get rid of cashless bail and criminalize flag burning on Monday, the president told reporters that Democratic-led cities are ungrateful for his administration intervening in controlling crime.
“As you all know, Chicago is a killing field right now,” Trump said, referencing his comments from last week in which he indicated he would send National Guard troops into Chicago next.
“And they don’t acknowledge it. They say, ‘we don’t need him, freedom, freedom, he’s a dictator, he’s a dictator,’” the president said, mocking Democratic leadership’s criticisms of him.
“A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we would like a dictator.’ I don’t like a dictator; I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense, and I’m a smart person,” Trump added.
The president has promised to crack down on crime in the country, in part, by deploying federal law enforcement into cities to make sweeping arrests. Trump’s first target was Washington, D.C., which he claimed had been overrun by crime – although state and federal statistics indicate violent crime in the nation’s capital has been declining.
The presence of 800 National Guard members, some armed, has sparked protests and a decline in recreational activities such as restaurant reservations.
Trump previously sent the National Guard to Los Angeles after protests against anti-immigrant sweeps by ICE agents.
Democrats have accused Trump of exaggerating violent crime anecdotes and ignoring data about crime statistics to impose federal law enforcement in cities run by liberal leaders he disagrees with.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said on Saturday, “there is no emergency” in the state that would warrant Trump to federalize the Illinois National Guard. He accused Trump of “attempting to manufacture a crisis.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the homicide rate in Baltimore, a city Trump has also claimed is overrun with crime, is the lowest it’s been in four decades.
“If [Trump] wanted to have a serious conversation about violent crime, he should have to pay attention to the work we’re doing in the state of Maryland to be able to address the issue,” Moore said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump has “no basis” and “no authority” to send troops or agents into Chicago, adding that Democratic voters also want to see lower crime rates.
But the president and his administration have taken a different narrative, claiming those pushing back on his use of power are just trying to be noncooperative.
Vice President JD Vance claimed that Democratic leaders are “angrier” that Trump is offering help than “that murderers are running roughshod over their cities.”
Trump insinuated he was helping cities by sending in federal law enforcement or federalizing state National Guards. He said those who are ungrateful for his help are “sick.”
“When I see what’s happening to our cities, and then you send in troops, instead of being praised, they’re saying ‘You’re trying to take over the Republic,’” Trump said. “These people are sick.”
Despite statistics largely showing violent crime is on the decline in cities across the country, Trump has claimed those numbers are untrustworthy. The Justice Department is currently investigating the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to see if they manipulated violent crime statistics.
