Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act to combat Chicago crime wave

President Donald Trump said he could legally invoke the Insurrection Act to combat violent crime in Chicago and urged Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to “ask for help,” escalating the long-running standoff between the two leaders.

Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from Egypt after completing his Middle East peace tour, was remarking on his earlier comments on that country’s approach to violent crime, saying their apparent success was due to strong leadership. He said U.S. governors of crime-ridden countries should follow their example.

“I want them to be stronger and tougher and not allow us to have record crime in Chicago and elsewhere. I want them to admit that they have a problem,” Trump said.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One upon his return from Egypt, where he praised Egypt’s “tough” approach to crime and later suggested he might invoke the Insurrection Act to combat violence in Chicago. (Fox News)

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“There were about 4,000 shootings in Chicago – murders – in a fairly short period of time, maybe a year and a half. Thousands more were shot but didn’t die. I want (Pritzker) to say we have a problem,” he added, while touting falling crime rates in Washington and Memphis, where he has deployed the National Guard.

A reporter then asked him if he would invoke the Insurrection Act, given that the courts are blocking aspects of his National Guard deployment. For example, a judge ruled Saturday that National Guard troops sent to Illinois by Trump to fight crime could stay in the state but could not patrol or deploy to protect federal property.

“I could use it if I wanted to. I could use it — it’s a very simple answer. I have the right to use the Insurrection Act,” Trump said.

“Actually, it was on Stephanopoulos today – ‘Sloppy’ Chris Christie was asked about it. He said: If you’re talking about the Insurrection Act, he has the absolute right to use it.

“He also said that 50% of sitting presidents have used the Insurrection Act – and that, according to them, it can’t even be challenged.”

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has resisted President Trump’s moves to deploy the National Guard. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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The Insurrection Act of 1807 gives the president the authority to deploy active-duty military troops or federalized National Guard troops domestically in limited circumstances, such as to suppress civil unrest, rebellion, or obstruction of federal law. It has been invoked around thirty times by around ten presidents, most recently by George HW Bush during the Los Angeles riots in 1992.

Trump himself threatened to invoke this law in 2020 during the George Floyd protests, but never officially did so.

But on Monday, he said he didn’t have to “go there yet” because his administration “wins on appeal.”

“You know, we’re losing with the radical left judges at the lower level, but we’re winning on appeal. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

When asked if he had a message for Pritzker, Trump didn’t hesitate.

“I think he should ask for help because he’s running a bad operation,” Trump said. “He’s letting people get killed in his city because he doesn’t want to deal with Chicago. I love Chicago. Chicago can become a great city again – and very quickly. I would clean up Chicago, eliminate the criminals – we would eliminate them.

Chicago police responded to the Englewood neighborhood where one man was beaten to death, another fatally shot and four others injured in 2023. (FOX 32 Chicago)

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“You know, in Washington, D.C., we took down 1,700 career criminals – hard-core criminals – and that’s why things are so good right now. Washington is setting records the other way; it’s never been safer. Restaurants have never done better – they were closing, now they’re opening new ones.”

Trump said he could do the same thing on a larger scale in Chicago and that Pritzker should ask him.

“And when you mentioned the Insurrection Act, yes, I could do that. Many presidents have done it,” Trump said.
“Fifty percent of presidents have used the Insurrection Act because they don’t want to go through that kind of thing where someone says, ‘There’s no crime,’ and 4,000 people have been shot. You know?”