President Donald Trump said his administration would turn its focus to Chicago in its push to clamp down on crime, after deploying federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.
Speaking from the Oval Office Friday, Aug. 22, Trump said his next move would be to intervene in Chicago, which he described as unsafe and poorly managed.
“After we do this, we’ll go to another location, and we’ll make it safe also,” Trump told reporters. “
We’re going to make our cities very, very safe. Chicago’s a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent and we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That will be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough.”
Trump also claimed that “African American ladies, beautiful ladies” had urged him to step in to address Chicago’s long-running struggles with gun violence. He added that New York City could follow.
Chicago Crime Trends
City data shows both fatal and nonfatal shootings in Chicago have dropped compared to recent years. The decline mirrors a national trend of violent crime falling across the country.
Illinois leaders have pushed back against the idea of Trump sending in the National Guard, and it remains unclear how the federal government could assume control in a city outside Washington, D.C. Home rule laws in the nation’s capital give the president more direct authority over local agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department.
Federal Crackdown In D.C.
Earlier this month, Trump’s administration surged federal law enforcement officers across parts of Washington, D.C., and brought the Metropolitan Police Department under federal control. Hundreds of National Guard troops were also deployed.
Critics have argued the effort is unnecessary, citing statistics that show violent crime in Washington declined in 2024 and continues to fall in 2025. Some have also suggested the crackdown is tied as much to immigration enforcement as to public safety.
