Democrat says soldiers in cities ‘make people less safe’ in debate
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor Rep. Mikie Sherrill criticized President Donald Trump’s National Guard deployments in major U.S. cities, saying troops on the streets “make people less safe.”
Speaking during a gubernatorial debate against Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli Wednesday night, Sherrill said “the military should not be on our streets.”
“It makes people less safe, it makes them less secure,” she said.
When asked how she would react to Trump sending the National Guard to a town in New Jersey and if there were any circumstances in which she would support such a move, Sherrill responded: “Unless there is an insurrection or some sort of crisis where the National Guard could intervene and the president invokes the Insurrection Act, he is illegally moving these National Guard troops across the country against the Insurrection Act. the insurrection, against the posse comitatus.
NEW JERSEY HOPEFULLY SUES TRUMP OVER TROOPS DEPLOYMENTS, SAYS STATES WILL PAY PRICE
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill said U.S. troops on city streets “make people less safe.” (Noah K. Murray/AP Photo and Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)
Sherrill added categorically that “the military should not be on our streets.”
“I can tell you this because I both worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office working in law enforcement to keep people safe, and I also worked in the military, and those are two very different jobs,” she said.
“So I have to say that when you look at the situation across the country, and when you look at the threats, and then you see the president say, when he was with (Secretary of War Pete) Hegseth recently, that he’s going to use our American cities as training grounds for our military, that’s unacceptable. I will not tolerate that as governor.”
GOP ACTIVISTS CLAIM SURGE COULD BRING BACK THE NEW DEEP BLUE JERSEY: “TAKE BACK YOUR STATE!” »
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill on stage at the start of their second and final debate October 8, 2025 in New Brunswick, NJ (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser)
Ciattarelli, meanwhile, asked Sherrill about security, saying, “The congresswoman has been anything but strong on public safety.”
“She voted to eliminate qualified immunity. It’s the foundation of protecting local law enforcement. She said she’s considering reappointing the current attorney general, who is considered the most anti-police attorney general we’ve ever had,” he said.
NEW JERSEY HOPEFULLY SUES TRUMP OVER TROOPS DEPLOYMENTS, SAYS STATES WILL PAY PRICE
Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, on stage at the start of their second and final debate, October 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Fox News Digital/Paul Steinhauser)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“I told the president and the people of New Jersey that he would never have to worry about New Jersey because as governor we will have safe communities,” he continued, adding, “We will once again be a state of law and order, and there will be consequences for unruly and illegal behavior.”
