Donald Trump was poised to intensify his military response in additional Democratic cities on Sunday, as Chicago braced for the arrival of National Guard troops and Baltimore received a stern warning that they could be next.
According to a U.S. official speaking with ABC News on Sunday, the Pentagon was preparing to send troops to Chicago after Trump suggested that the city would follow Washington DC as a target for federal action.
Trump indicated last week that he was considering deploying troops to Chicago and New York. This would resemble the military measures taken in the nation’s capital, where numerous National Guard members and federal law enforcement are currently patrolling the streets.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon said they would not ‘speculate’ on the Chicago deployment.
“The Department is a planning organization and is continually coordinating with other agency partners on strategies to protect federal assets and personnel,” a Pentagon representative told The Daily Mail. “We will not speculate on further operations.”
The White House directed The Daily Mail to Trump’s comments about the city earlier this week.
“Chicago is a disaster,” Trump stated. “There’s an incompetent mayor—grossly incompetent. We’ll probably handle that next. That will be our next target, and it won’t even be difficult.”
In addition, Trump was invited to join Democrat Maryland Governor Wes Moore in a tour of Baltimore.
Donald Trump was ready to expand his military crackdown into more Democratic cities on Sunday as Chicago was expected to receive National Guard troops and Baltimore was given a stark warning they would be next.
Last week, Trump said he was considering Chicago and New York for troop deployments. The move would mimic the military action in the nation’s capital, where thousands of National Guard and federal law enforcement officers are patrolling the streets
He responded by saying he might ‘send in the troops’ instead.
Moore has criticized Trump’s unprecedented flex of federal power aimed at combatting crime and homelessness in Washington. The governor last week invited Trump to visit his state to discuss public safety and walk the streets.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said Moore asked ‘in a rather nasty and provocative tone,’ and then raised the specter of repeating the National Guard deployment he made in Los Angeles over the objections of California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.
‘Wes Moore´s record on Crime is a very bad one, unless he fudges his figures on crime like many of the other `Blue States´ are doing,’ Trump wrote, as he cited a pejorative nickname he uses frequently for the California governor.
‘But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the `troops,´ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime.’
Moore said he invited Trump to Maryland ‘because he seems to enjoy living in this blissful ignorance’ about improving crime rates in Baltimore.
After a spike during the pandemic that matched nationwide trends, Baltimore’s violent crime rate has fallen.
The 200 homicides reported last year were down 24% from the prior year and 42% since 2021, according to city data.
The Pentagon is reportedly planning to deploy troops to Chicago after Trump hinted that the Windy City would be the next target for a federal takeover following Washington
Trump was invited to join Democrat Maryland Governor Wes Moore in a tour of Baltimore. He responded by saying he might ‘send in the troops’ instead
Between 2023 and 2024, overall violent crime was down nearly 8% and property crimes down 20%.
When reached for comment by The Daily Mail, Governor Moore said via a spokesperson Trump was representing ‘what people hate most about politicians.’
‘This is a President who would rather attack his country’s largest cities from behind a desk than walk the streets with the people he represents.’
‘The President should join us in Baltimore because the blissful ignorance, tropes, and the 1980s scare tactics benefit no one. We need leaders who are there helping the people who are actually on the ground doing the work.’
He also called the city ‘a story of resilience and strength’ as the murder rate has dropped.
Trump and Moore also traded accusations regarding military service on Sunday.
The president asked on Truth Social: ‘Did Wes Moore, the Governor of Maryland, lie about getting a Bronze Star?’
Last year, Moore said that he made ‘an honest mistake’ in failing to correct a White House fellowship application 18 years ago when he wrote he had received a Bronze Star for his military service in Afghanistan though he never ended up receiving it, after the New York Times obtained a copy of the application and reported on it.
Trump and Moore (pictured center left with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott) also traded accusations regarding military service on Sunday
Moore responded by asking on X: ‘Did Donald Trump, the President of the United States, lie about an injury to dodge the Vietnam draft?’
In Washington, where Trump is surging National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officers, a patchwork of protests popped up throughout the city over the weekend, while some normally bustling corners were noticeably quiet.
In some of the most populated areas, residents walked by small groups of national guardsmen, often talking among themselves. Videos of arrests and detainments circulated on social media.
Trump has repeatedly described some of the nation´s largest cities – run by Democrats, with Black mayors and majority-minority populations – as dangerous and filthy.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is Black, as is Moore. The District of Columbia and New York also have Black mayors.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, speaking during a religious event Sunday at Howard University in Washington, said the Guard’s presence in the nation’s capital was not about crime: ‘This is about profiling us.’
‘This is laced with bigotry and racism,’ he later elaborated to reporters. ‘Not one white mayor has been designated. And I think this is a civil rights issue, a race issue, and an issue of D.C. statehood.’
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said there is no emergency warranting the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago.
‘Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he´s causing families,’ Pritzker wrote on X.
‘We´ll continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect Illinoisans.’
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city doesn’t need ‘a military occupation’ and would sue to block one.
He said there has been no communication from the White House about a possible military deployment.
‘We´re not going to surrender our humanity to this tyrant,’ Johnson said Sunday on MSNBC.
‘I can tell you this, the city of Chicago has a long history of standing up against tyranny, resisting those who wish to undermine the interests of working people.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the mayors of Baltimore and Chicago for further comment.
