Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker raised a wild conspiracy concept Sunday for why President Trump is contemplating deploying Nationwide Guard troops to Chicago and different blue cities stricken by crime.
“He has different goals, aside from preventing crime,” Pritzker confidently acknowledged, throughout an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“The opposite goals are that he’d prefer to cease the elections 2026 or, frankly, take management of these elections,” the governor continued.
“He’ll simply declare that there’s some downside with an election, after which he’s received troops on the bottom that may take management.”
The White Home dismissed Pritzker’s allegation.
“It’s wonderful the lengths this slob will go to with a purpose to deflect from the horrible crime disaster that has been plaguing Chicago for years,” White Home spokeswoman Abigail Jackson informed The Put up.
Jackson famous that the town has racked up extra murders than some other US metropolis for 13 straight years and that extra unlawful firearms are recovered in Chicago than in New York Metropolis and LA mixed.
Chicago has additionally skilled a spate of violence — with 35 folks shot over Labor Day weekend, together with 5 killed, as of Saturday afternoon.
Chicago had 573 murders in 2024, in comparison with 377 for New York Metropolis and 268 for Los Angeles. Chicago’s homicide fee was about 22 killings per 100,000 folks — in contrast with seven for LA and fewer than 5 for NYC.
That’s nonetheless decrease than some main cities — together with Detroit (32), Washington, DC, (27) and Atlanta (25).
“Chicago’s residents can be a lot safer if Pritzker really did his job and addressed his crime downside as a substitute of attempting to be a Resistance Lib hero,” she added.
Pritzker’s unfounded claims come as Trump has strongly hinted that he might quickly deploy the Nationwide Guard to the streets of Chicago, which he has described as a “killing area” and a “hellhole.”
Trump known as the governor “weak and pathetic” for dismissing the necessity for a Nationwide Guard presence within the Windy Metropolis in a Saturday Reality Social put up.
The president additional warned “we’re coming” – suggesting some type of federal motion on crime in Chicago – if Pritzker doesn’t “straighten it out, FAST.”
Trump’s put up adopted back-to-back bloody weekends in Chicago, which noticed 10 folks killed by gunfire and scores injured.
“Nationwide Guard troops or any type of troops on the streets of an American metropolis don’t belong until there’s an revolt, until there’s really an emergency – and there’s not,” Pritzker mentioned of the scenario in Chicago.
He additionally vowed to sue the Trump administration if troops are certainly deployed.
“It’s an invasion with US troops, in the event that they actually try this,” Pritzker argued.
“They’ll be in court docket fairly rapidly,” he added.
Division of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem argued that Pritzker seems to be extra involved along with his delight than addressing crime in Chicago.
“This looks like it’s extra about Pritzker’s ego now relatively than really defending his folks,” Noem mentioned on “Face the Nation.”
“If he has one homicide within the Metropolis of Chicago, he needs to be calling President Trump and saying, ‘What’s your concepts? What can we do?’” the DHS chief added.
Trump deployed 1000’s of Nationwide Guard troops to Washington, DC, earlier this month as a part of a sweeping crime crackdown.
For the reason that president declared a criminal offense emergency within the nation’s capital, violent crime has fallen by 45% – and carjackings are down a shocking 87% – compared with the identical interval in 2024, DC Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser mentioned earlier this week.
In June, Trump dispatched 4,000 Nationwide Guard troops and 700 Marine service members to California amid violent anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles.
By July 1, practically all the Nationwide Guard members and Marines had been eliminated.
Pritzker did sign that he’s keen to simply accept some federal assist.
“We wish [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] brokers to take extra weapons off the streets, we want FBI to coordinate with our native regulation enforcement to assist catch perpetrators of crimes,” the governor mentioned. “If they’d try this, we’d welcome that.”
“However that’s not what they’re planning on doing.”
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to The Put up’s request for remark.
