President Donald Trump on Friday said Chicago will likely be the next target of his efforts to crack down on crime, homelessness and illegal immigration. Trump indicated that the Midwestern city could receive similar treatment to what he's done in Washington, D.C., where he's deployed 2,000 troops on the streets.
“I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.”
And as Trump considers deploying the Guard to other major Democratic-leaning cities, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher says thanks - but no thanks.
"I would say, 'Mr. President, we appreciate any help, we actually don't need the National Guard.' We just need our governor to help mobilize other law enforcement in Minnesota and our emergency management, but if you send them, we'll find something for them to do," Fletcher said Monday at the Minnesota State Fair while talking to WCCO's Chad Hartman.
Fletcher did say there are times where the National Guard can be an invaluable resource.
"Certainly riots or major disturbances, but generally speaking, the way Minnesota works is that we activate all law enforcement in the area regionally and then statewide," he says. "And see if we can handle the problem then before we call out the National Guard. There's a triage system that goes in place."
Trump has repeatedly described some of the nation's largest cities — run by Democrats, with Black mayors and majority-minority populations — as dangerous and filthy.
He singled out Chicago on Friday, calling it a “mess” and saying residents there are “screaming for us to come" despite significant decreases in crimes of violence.
Could the same be done in Minneapolis? It certainly fits the profile of the cities Trump is targeting. There have been struggles containing crime since COVID, and the department losing around 300 officers following the George Floyd riots in 2020.
Fletcher told WCCO's Chad Hartman even though he believes Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara is doing a great job recruiting and refilling the ranks, he'd like to see officers from other departments and the State Patrol assigned to help the MPD until it's fully-staffed.
"They need 150 cops because they lost 300. Yeah, and Chief O'Hara is doing a great job," says Fletcher.
"You like him," asked WCCO's Hartman.
"I do. But until they get up to full speed, we should be flooding in other support. And having said that, we don't need the National Guard," Fletcher added.
Would be a better use of resources if the federal government funded more money for cities like St. Paul or Minneapolis to hire more police officers? Fletcher says it is more complicated in Minneapolis.
"Yes, but the problem in Minneapolis, even though they have the money, they can't find officers fast enough," Fletcher explains. "There's obviously the politics of Minneapolis. (County Attorney Mary Moriarty's) policy of reviewing and charging police officers there, it's a complex web over there in Minneapolis. But yeah, even if they had the money, they wouldn't be able to hire them fast enough."
However, Fletcher believes the real answer for reducing crime in the city is all right here in Minnesota - as long as it is used properly.
"We all ought to care about Minneapolis," says Fletcher. "And my advice to the next governor is get yourself in a position to help them. They're down 150, 200 cops. Get the State Patrol over there."
Chicago reacts to suggestion with "get out of our city"
Trump’s suggestion that Chicago might be the next target for a crackdown on crime didn't sit well with Illinois officeholders.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said his office has not received formal communication from the Trump administration about military or federal law enforcement deployments in Chicago but said “we have grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops.”
Johnson called Trump's approach “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound,” arguing it “has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement.”
It is unclear how Trump would pursue an effort in Chicago that is similar to his approach to D.C., where home rule laws give the federal government greater authority.
However, the president's eldest son said it might be time to look at a whole host of cities in the Pacific Northwest. In an interview Thursday with Newsmax, Donald Trump Jr. blamed Democrats for “through-the-roof” murder rates.
“Maybe we should roll out the tour to Portland, Seattle, the other craphole cities of the country,” Trump Jr. said.
In a post on X entitled “Things People are Begging For,” Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, included cheaper groceries, no cuts to Medicaid or food aid for low-income families, and the release of federally held files on Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex trafficker and former Trump friend.
What they are not begging for, Pritzker continued, is “an authoritarian power grab of major cities.”