“Chicago is a hellhole right now,” President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday when asked if he plans to send the National Guard to the Windy City. He said that he does plan to send forces in.
In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker has criticized the plans to send federal forces into the city. He noted during his own Tuesday press conference that the deployment has been scheduled to coincide with Mexican Independence Day celebrations in Chicago.
“We have been told [Immigration and Customs Enforcement} will try and disrupt community picnics and peaceful parades,” Pritzker said. “Let’s be clear: the terror and cruelty is the point.”
Earlier this year, the Trump administration also sent National Guard forces to Los Angeles to crack down on crime. More recently, Trump ordered the National Guard into Washington D.C. and he has been touting a decrease in crime there since the deployment, calling it a “crime free zone,” on Truth Social.
“I would love to have Gov. Pritzker call – I’d gain respect for him – and say: “We do have a problem and we’d love for you to send in the troops. Because, you know what? The people, they have to be protected,’” Trump said Tuesday. He cited recent headlines about gun violence in the city, including eight dead and 51 injured over Labor Day weekend.
In a Tuesday Truth Social post, Trump also said: “CHICAGO IS THE MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!”
He also posted about Chicago crime on Sunday: “CRIME IS TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL IN CHICAGO. 6 DEAD, 24 BADLY WOUNDED, LAST WEEK ALONE!!!”
While Chicago does have a reputation for violence, its crime rate is not actually near the highest in the world, or even the U.S. Data tables from the Council on Criminal Justice show that the numbers might look high, but the rates look significantly lower than many other cities when population rates are factored in.
Multiple lists of “most dangerous cities” in the U.S. have been released this year (including these from U.S. News & World Report and Security.org as well as The Hill’s highest homicide rate list) and none included Chicago in their top five. Memphis, Tenn., and Baltimore, Md. (a city that Trump also called a “hellhole” Tuesday) ended up on each of those three lists.
Axios said in a report this week that Federal Bureau of Investigation data shows that “rural states in the American South and West had some of the nation's highest violent crime and homicide rates in 2024, driven by violence in small communities.” Additionally, FBI data released this year showed that crime in the U.S. overall has been trending down in recent years. Audacy’s report on the data noted that crime in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City has already been trending down. Crime in D.C. was also decreasing before the crackdown last month.
Still, Trump seems determined to crack down on crime in major cities. He added New Orleans to the list of cities who might soon be visited by federal forces Wednesday, according to Audacy station WWL.
“It’s an honor to do it,” said Trump of the crackdowns on Tuesday. “A lot of presidents wouldn’t do what I’m doing. I don’t need this heat.”