Criticism Mounts Over Targeting Democratic Strongholds
US President Donald Trump is expected to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, following Los Angeles (LA) and Washington, DC.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on August 23 (local time), the US Department of Defense has been planning for several weeks to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to Chicago. After deploying the National Guard to Washington, DC on August 22, President Trump singled out Chicago, saying, "Chicago is a mess and the mayor is very incompetent. Next, we will fix that place." While there was also discussion about deploying active-duty regular troops, it is reportedly unlikely at this time.
President Trump has been deploying the National Guard to major cities under the justification of restoring law and order. There are expectations that the National Guard will be sent to other large cities following LA, Washington, DC, and Chicago. In June, President Trump deployed the National Guard to LA, citing chaos caused by protests against crackdowns on undocumented immigrants. Normally, deploying the National Guard requires the consent of the state governor, but President Trump pushed ahead regardless.
However, the cities President Trump has singled out-Chicago, New York, Baltimore, and Oakland-are strongholds of the Democratic Party. This has led to criticism that there are political motives behind his actions.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson stated, "We have not received any official notification from the federal government," and added, "President Trump's approach is unnecessary and unjustified." Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also commented, "Trump used LA and Washington, DC as testing grounds for dictatorship, and now he is trying to take control of other states and cities," emphasizing, "President Trump's goal is to instill fear in our communities, destabilize public safety efforts, and justify his abuse of power."
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