Trump weighs sending National Guard to New Orleans over Chicago

President Donald Trump said Wednesday his administration is deciding whether to deploy federal National Guard troops to Chicago or instead send them to New Orleans, where the governor has expressed a willingness to accept federal help.

“We're making a determination now,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. ”Do we go to Chicago or do we go to a place like New Orleans, where we have a great governor, Jeff Landry, who wants us to straighten out a very nice section of this country that's become quite, you know, quite tough, quite bad?"

Trump had announced a day earlier that troops would be sent into Chicago, declaring “we’re going in” despite opposition from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. On Wednesday, however, Trump suggested his administration had not yet finalized its decision. He added that he is open to sending troops into Chicago if Pritzker requests help.

“We could straighten out Chicago. All they have to do is ask us.”  Trump said, calling Pritzker “incompetent” for refusing federal assistance to reduce violent crime in the city.

Pritzker has rejected Trump’s proposal, accusing him of pursuing authoritarian measures. Johnson has also been outspoken against federal troops being deployed into the city.

The debate follows Trump’s earlier decision to send more than 2,200 National Guard troops into Washington, DC, an action his administration says dramatically reduced crime in the nation’s capital.

Last month, Trump signed an executive order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to coordinate with governors on determining where National Guard deployments may be needed. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has backed Trump’s plan and voiced support on social media, writing, “We will take President [Trump’s] help from New Orleans to Shreveport!”