In a recent Oval Office address, President Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to sending the National Guard to Chicago, Illinois, amid his continued portrayal of Democrat-run cities as overwhelmed by crime.
Trump’s statements regarding the potential troop deployment marked one of his most direct comments on the issue thus far.
When questioned during the announcement of the relocation of the US Space Command headquarters, Trump defended his crime crackdown initiatives by emphasizing the necessity of military intervention.
“We’re going in. I didn’t say when, but we’re going in,” Trump stated, expressing his readiness to act against crime in the Windy City.
The President highlighted his belief that if Illinois Governor JB Pritzker were to reach out for assistance, he would be willing to collaborate, but noted, “We have the right to do it because I have an obligation to protect this country.”
Trump’s defiance in the face of a recent federal court ruling that deemed his previous troop deployment to Los Angeles illegal underscored his administration’s aggressive stance on crime in urban areas.
In his comments, he described certain offenders as inherently criminal, suggesting that some people were born to commit crimes.
“Frankly, they were born to be criminals,” Trump said.
The President also referred to the federal troop deployment in Washington, DC, as a model for future initiatives in cities grappling with crime issues.
“I’m very proud of Washington,” he claimed, asserting it served as a template for broader operations.
Experts, however, are cautioning that the federal government possesses greater authority to deploy troops in the nation’s capital than in other jurisdictions.
Under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement is prohibited, barring a few exceptional circumstances involving state cooperation.
Legal experts suggest that a deployment of troops in Chicago could prompt further legal challenges under this law, particularly given Trump’s repeated threats of such an action.
Tensions between the Trump administration and city officials have escalated since August.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem recently announced plans to increase the presence of federal agents to aid immigration enforcement in Chicago.
In contrast, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson declared that city police would not collaborate with any National Guard troops or federal agents.
In a recent statement, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker indicated that military staging had already commenced in and around the Chicago area.
This initiative has been met with opposition, as Pritzker warned that the city should prepare for a situation similar to what Los Angeles experienced in June.
Trump’s remarks suggest that a potential troop deployment to Chicago would just be the beginning of a more expansive crackdown on crime.
He characterized the current state of crime in cities like Chicago and Baltimore as dire, stating, “Chicago is a hellhole right now. Baltimore is a hellhole right now. Parts of Los Angeles are terrible if we didn’t put out the fires – I mean, the other fires, the bullet fires.”
The primary focus of Trump’s Oval Office event was actually to announce his decision to relocate the headquarters of US Space Command from Colorado to Huntsville, Alabama.
The US Space Command, which oversees military operations beyond Earth’s atmosphere, is housed under the Department of Defense.
Critics have highlighted that this move appears to cater to Trump’s Republican base, noting Alabama’s status as a politically conservative area in contrast to Colorado’s more liberal leanings.
“The strategic interests of the United States” guided Trump’s decision, he claimed, while also suggesting that the relocation would generate 30,000 jobs and lead to “billions and billions” in investment, despite concerns about logistical challenges.
Huntsville is already recognized as a significant aerospace hub, being home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and a major center for defense contractors, earning it the nickname “Rocket City”.
Trump’s announcement also reverses a 2023 decision by President Joe Biden to maintain the location of Space Command in Colorado, where it had been established since 1985 before being mothballed in 2002.
Trump reinstated the command during his first presidency in 2019, and approximately 1,700 personnel are currently based at its headquarters in Colorado Springs.
Interestingly, Trump expressed a lack of affection for Colorado, a state he lost in both the 2020 and 2024 elections, mentioning that mail-in voting practices influenced his decision to relocate the command.
“When a state is for mail-in voting, that means they want dishonest elections,” Trump declared.
He jokingly referenced his substantial victory margin in Alabama, asserting it had no bearing on his decision-making process.
In response to Trump’s remarks, Colorado Governor Jared Polis criticized the move as undermining national security and wasting taxpayer dollars while disrupting military families’ lives.
During this Oval Office appearance, speculation surrounding Trump’s health simmered following his absence from public events for a couple of days.
When asked about his health status, Trump dismissed the concerns, commenting on public perceptions relating to his absence.
“I didn’t do any [news conferences] for two days and they said, ‘There must be something wrong with him,’” Trump noted.
He then compared his situation to President Biden’s, noting, “Biden wouldn’t do them for months, you wouldn’t see him, and nobody ever said there was ever anything wrong with him, and we know he wasn’t in the greatest of shape.”
Trump also mentioned his recent activities, including spending part of the Labor Day weekend at his Trump National Golf Course in Virginia, emphasizing his active lifestyle and dismissing health speculations.
Media evaluations revealed that this marked Trump’s 66th visit to a golf course since he resumed office in January.
By the time he potentially concludes his second term, Trump is expected to be the oldest president in history at 82, surpassing the age of the current record holder, Biden, by a few months.
Public scrutiny surrounding health conditions faced by presidents, especially as they age, has also cast a shadow of uncertainty regarding Trump.
One unexpected announcement made during Trump’s news conference was regarding a recent attack on a drug vessel in the Caribbean Sea.
“We just – over the last few minutes – literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat,” Trump stated, describing it as a recent action.
He claimed the vessel had departed from Venezuela, a country he has consistently accused of steering drug-trafficking operations, albeit without presenting evidence to support this assertion.
Following the news conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that military action had taken place in the southern Caribbean against the drug vessel operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization.
However, further details were not made available.
Since beginning his second term, Trump has returned to a policy of maximum pressure against the Venezuelan regime led by Nicolas Maduro, including increasing the bounty for his capture to $50 million.
Trump has also made claims linking immigration to a criminal “invasion” orchestrated by Maduro.
Nonetheless, a US intelligence report declassified in May did not establish any evidence supporting allegations of collaboration between Maduro and criminal gangs such as Tren de Aragua.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration designated Latin American gangs as “foreign terrorist organizations,” representing a significant shift in conventional definitions in Washington, which usually has separate classifications for foreign criminal enterprises.
In August, reports indicated that Trump secretly signed an order permitting military action against cartels and criminal networks, raising concerns about possible US interventions abroad.
image source from：aljazeera
