Nationwide — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has responded to President Trump calling him “incompetent” and criticizing his metropolis and his management as mayor. He instructed reporters, “The President has all the time been intimidated by the mental prowess of Black males, and so after all he would communicate in these petite and purile phrases… as a result of he’s small.”
Based on Fox 32 Chicago, Trump sharply criticized the town of Chicago on Monday, calling it a “catastrophe” and signaling that the town might be subsequent for a federal crackdown on crime. The remarks got here as Trump introduced a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s police pressure, citing rising violence and homelessness within the nation’s capital.
Whereas addressing reporters, Trump singled out Chicago and New York Metropolis as cities that might face related intervention in the event that they don’t “get their act collectively.” He unleashed a private assault on Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, labeling him “completely incompetent” and mocking his political ambitions. “Now we have a mayor there who is completely incompetent. He’s an incompetent man. And we’ve an incompetent governor there… Now I perceive he desires to be president, however I seen he misplaced a bit of weight. So possibly he has an opportunity. You by no means know,” Trump mentioned.
Illinois Governor Pritzker responded on X, dismissing Trump’s authority to take over Chicago and taking a jab in regards to the unsealed Jeffrey Epstein recordsdata: “Donald, thanks for the praise! Let’s not mislead the general public, you and I each know you haven’t any authority to take over Chicago. By the best way, the place are the Epstein recordsdata?”
Along with the aforementioned assertion, Mayor Brandon Johnson additionally defended his administration’s crime discount efforts. Johnson famous that homicides within the metropolis have dropped by greater than 30% and shootings have fallen practically 40% prior to now 12 months alone. He accused Trump of reducing essential assets for violence prevention, together with $158 million in latest funding and greater than $800 million in anti-violence grants nationwide throughout his administration.
“If President Trump desires to assist make Chicago safer, he can begin by releasing the funds for anti-violence packages which have been essential to our work to drive down crime and violence,” Johnson mentioned. “Sending within the Nationwide Guard would solely serve to destabilize our metropolis and undermine our public security efforts.”
The confrontation comes as Trump positions himself as a law-and-order candidate and indicators willingness to make use of federal authority in main cities. Chicago, with its improved however nonetheless high-profile crime challenges, might quickly discover itself on the heart of that combat.
