VLADIMIR DUTHIERS:
00:02:56
So perhaps, Olivia, those independents feel the way that they do because of the language and the messaging that the president has used when talking about deploying these troops. For example, we talked about that post that he posted of himself dressed up as Colonel Kilgore from the movie ApocalypseNow. Of course, the famous scene-- I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like victory here. The president suggesting that he is going to war with the city of Chicago and its citizens, which, as you know from having listened to US Senator Tammy Duckworth, who herself is a combat veteran, suggesting that the president, in using this language, is illegal to suggest that the United States would go to war against its own citizens. So I know the president snapped at some reporters when they pointedly asked him if-- or why he was using that language. But what did he say? Well, the president was asked about this over the weekend as he was heading to the US Open of whether or not he is going to war with an American city. He said he's not going to war with the city, but he would hope that there's some invitation to have him bring the National Guard in and deal with crime. Tom Homan, who is also the director-- or Trump's border czar, as he is called here at the White House, was asked about this on CNN, whether they're going to war in an American city. He said, no, we're going to war on crime. We're going to war with criminals. We're going to war with the cartel. We're not going to war with the city of Chicago and its people. And that's what President Trump has kind of been saying, where he's saying, we're going to go in there and root out crime. This is not for the citizens who live there. But of course, raises the question, especially as we've seen National Guard here on the streets, sometimes they're arresting people who are not here legally, and sometimes it's people who are and are committing crimes. So it's the question, are you there to deal with immigration, or are you there to deal with crime? And we have yet to see, Vlad, whether or not there will be a full deployment of the National Guard in Chicago. Yeah. And to the president's point, it would make sense, I think, for governors and for mayors to try and work with the president and with the federal government to try and reduce crime, if that is, indeed, the intention. And that's, I guess, what the president was saying. He hopes that somebody from Chicago will give him a call about that. All right. We'll see how it happens, how it breaks down. Olivia, thank you, as always, my friend. Appreciate it.
