Trump troop threat for Chicago faces opposition

After hinting as much for weeks, President Trump said point blank today he will deploy the National Guard to the Windy City. Chicago is a hellhole right now. Baltimore is a hellhole right now.

Trump cited crime statistics from this past long weekend. Nine dead in Chicago, nearly 60 shot. Though when it comes to violent crimes committed per capita, Chicago ranks 80th in the nation. No federal troops in the city of Chicago!

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker have both begged the president not to send troops. I refuse to pretend that any of this is normal.

Today, a group of military veterans and lawyers had this message for Guard members who get the call. You're not alone in thinking that this isn't what you signed up for. You are not alone in questioning whether it's moral, just, right, or in this case, even legal to follow these orders.

Today's revelation comes 22 days after Trump mobilized the Guard to patrol Washington, DC, and three months after he sent Guard members to help quell protests against his immigration raids in Los Angeles. In a scathing decision today, US District Judge Charles Breyer said Trump's military moves in LA violated federal law and that by expanding to more cities, Trump is essentially creating a national police force with the president as its chief. It was a radical left judge.

Trump shrugged off the ruling, which the White House plans to appeal. We're going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it because I have an obligation to protect this country. And, Nancy, the officials in Illinois and in Maryland don't want the National Guard, don't want this help, but the mayor of Washington seems to be softening. Yes, John, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser initially railed against these efforts to federalize her city's police force, but today, she signed an executive order that called on local officials to cooperate with federal law enforcement to the maximum degree possible. And, notably, she did not give an end date, which opens the door for this arrangement to go well past the original 30-day deadline next week. Why the apparent change of heart, Nancy? Well, there has been a drop in crime here over the past few weeks. President Trump has talked about that a lot. But he was also threatening a complete political takeover of the city if Bowser didn't cooperate. And because the federal government has such a unique relationship with this city, unique power over this city, that was not an empty threat. So Bowser may not have felt that she had much choice. She did, however, request today that federal agents more clearly identify their agencies and stop wearing masks so that residents will feel more at ease with their presence here.