Trump says ‘we’re going in’ to Chicago to crackdown on crime

He cited multiple violent weekends in the city, including Labor Day Weekend, which saw 54 people shot and at least seven people killed during the long weekend. Trump touted the crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital after sending in the National Guard and federalizing DC’s police force, saying, "it’s now a safe zone. We have no crime. We have—it’s in such great shape. You can go and actually walk with your children, your wife, your husband, you can walk right down the middle of the street. You’re not going to be shot."

He said that the effort has taken "1,600 people out, hardcore criminals that will not be coming back anytime soon, and we’re very proud of it."

Trump also said he would "love" for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to call him and say "we do have a problem, and we’d love you to send in the troops." He noted an interview with Chicago residents, many of which were black, who were saying "please, we need help. We need help. We can’t walk outside. We’re petrified."

"If the Governor would call me up, I would love to do it. Now, we’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it because I have an obligation to protect this country."

In response to Trump’s comments, Pritzker said in a press conference that "Chicago does not want troops on our streets," adding, "When did we become a country where it's ok for the US President to insist on national television that a state could call him to beg for anything? Especially something we don't want."

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who on Monday called for residents to be prepared to "defend this land," said, "Chicago will continue to have a violence problem as long as red states continue to have a gun problem. Shootings will continue as long as this presidential administration continues to put politics over people." He claimed that gun violence would continue as long as "the president continues to allow tens of thousands of guns to be trafficked into our state and our city."