Unlike other Democrat-run cities where Trump has suggested he may deploy troops to help fight crime, the governor of Louisiana is a Republican.
NEW ORLEANS — President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that New Orleans might be the next city to which he could send the National Guard to combat crime. This consideration is part of his broader plan potentially involving more cities across the nation with federal law enforcement presence.
Trump has already announced intentions to deploy the National Guard in Chicago and Baltimore. This follows the recent deployment of troops and federal agents to Washington, D.C., which occurred last month.
“So we’re making a determination now,” Trump informed reporters during a meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the Oval Office. “Do we go to Chicago? Do we go to a place like New Orleans, where we have a great governor, Jeff Landry, who wants us to come in and straighten out a very nice section of this country that’s become quite, you know, quite tough, quite bad.”
Trump often highlights his success in making Washington a “safe zone.” According to the White House, over 1,760 arrests have been made citywide since the president announced the mobilization of federal forces on Aug. 7.
However, Washington is a federal district where Trump has the authority to take control of the local police force for up to 30 days under existing laws. Extending the deployment of troops to other Democratic-controlled cities would mark a significant increase in measures.
Trump’s recent comments followed a day after he proclaimed “We’re going in” concerning Chicago and hinted at plans to send the National Guard there and to Baltimore, the nation’s third-largest city. This comes amid strong opposition from state and local officials, as well as residents in those areas.
New Orleans, however, is a Democrat-controlled in a red state run by Landry.
“So we’re going to be going to maybe Louisiana, and you have New Orleans, which has a crime problem. We’ll straighten that out in about two weeks,” Trump said. “It’ll take us two weeks, easier than D.C.”
Shortly after Trump’s comments, Landry said on social media, “We will take President @realDonaldTrump’s help from New Orleans to Shreveport!”
But city leaders immediately balked at the idea.
“Crime is down in New Orleans,” City Councilmember Oliver Thomas, who is also a mayoral candidate, said via text message. “That would seem to be very political or a major overreaction!”
Councilmember Jean-Paul Morrell said it is “ridiculous to consider sending the National Guard into another American city that hasn’t asked for it.”
“Guardsmen are not trained law enforcement. They can’t solve crimes, they can’t interview witnesses and they aren’t trained to constitutionally police,” Morrell said in a statement. “NOPD is doing a great job with the existing resources they have. Marching troops into New Orleans is an unnecessary show of force in effort to create a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.”
The City of New Orleans issued its own more conciliatory statement, saying “our federal and state partnerships have played a significant role in ensuring public safety, particularly during special events” and that local officials “remain committed to sustaining this momentum.” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted last month on federal fraud charges and is set to be arraigned in the coming weeks.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly railed against Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker for not requesting that the National Guard be deployed.
“We could straighten out Chicago. All they have to do is ask us to go into Chicago. If we don’t have the support of some of these politicians, but I’ll tell you who is supporting us, the people of Chicago,” Trump said Wednesday.
Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have been adamant in saying Chicago doesn’t need or want military intervention. In Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore have remained similarly opposed.
In Washington, Mayor Muriel Bowser has said Trump’s decision to take over her city’s police force and flood streets with hundreds of federal law enforcement agents and National Guard troops has succeeded in reducing violent crime — but she’s also argued that similar results could have been achieved simply by having more city police officers in service.
Associated Press writer Jack Brook in New Orleans contributed to this report.
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