Trump accused of manufacturing crisis to justify national guard deployment to Chicago

Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader and New York Democratic congressman, has accused Donald Trump of having manufactured a crisis to justify sending federalised national guard troops into Chicago over the heads of local leaders and of playing games with the lives of Americans through his unprecedented domestic deployment of the military, which has already escalated to include the arming of troops patrolling Washington, DC after their earlier use in Los Angeles in June.

The White House has been developing plans to deploy troops in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, as part of a hard-line approach to crime, homelessness and immigration, though critics argue that the move represents a deliberate attempt to undermine Democratic-led cities. Pentagon officials confirmed that planning is underway to coordinate with partner agencies to safeguard federal assets and personnel, but stressed that no final operational details had been released, The Guardian reported.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have rejected the plan, describing it as unconstitutional and unnecessary, since the National Guard is typically mobilised at the request of governors and only federalised in exceptional emergencies. They noted that Illinois had not sought federal assistance and pointed to significant drops in violent crime in Chicago, which they argued invalidated the justification for federal intervention.

At the same time, defence officials confirmed that as many as 1,700 National Guard personnel across 19 Republican-led states were being readied to provide logistical and clerical support to immigration enforcement operations, further intensifying concerns that domestic military deployments were being driven by political calculations rather than genuine security needs.

Donald Trump has continued to claim that urban centres such as Chicago and New York are plagued by uncontrolled levels of crime, despite statistical evidence showing long-term declines. Observers note that the cities identified for potential deployments are Democratic strongholds governed largely by Black mayors, raising questions about whether the strategy is motivated as much by political rivalry and racial undertones as by law-and-order priorities.

Rahm Emanuel, former Illinois congressman, ex-chief of staff to President Barack Obama and former mayor of Chicago, has also criticised Trump’s agenda, arguing that the president should work with city authorities on crime prevention rather than treat Chicago as an occupied city.