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President’s comments come as the Windy City suffers another violent weekend
Isabel Keanein New York Sunday 23 November 2025 15:38 GMTComments
CloseIllinois National Guard member says she would refuse Trump order to deploy to Chicago
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President Donald Trump claimed that Chicago residents have been chanting “bring in Trump” as a series of shootings in the Windy City this weekend prompted him to raise the prospect of sending troops into the city.
A 14-year-old boy was killed and eight other teenagers were injured in separate shootings late Friday in Chicago’s Loop, part of the city’s downtown, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Less than 24 hours after violence during a so-called “teen takeover,” Trump took to his Truth Social platform to condemn the violence and again raise the prospect of deploying federalized troops to Chicago, as he has already done in cities including Los Angeles and Washington D.C.
“Massive crime and rioting in the Chicago Loop area. Multiple Police Officers attacked and badly injured. 300 people rioting, 6 victims shot, one critical and one DEAD,” the president wrote Saturday.
He continued: “In the meantime, Governor Pritzker and the Low IQ Mayor of Chicago are refusing Federal Government help for a situation that could quickly be remedied. The people are chanting, BRING IN TRUMP!!!”
open image in galleryLaw enforcement officers guarding an ICE processing facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview last week (AP)Two separate shootings broke out Friday night as Chicagoans celebrated the start of the holiday season during an annual tree lighting ceremony in Millennium Park, right in the city’s downtown.
The city’s second ward Alderman, Brian Hopkins, wrote on social media that 300 teens had been “rioting” in the Loop and that police officers had been “attacked and injured with mace and stun guns.” At least one officer was hospitalized, he said.
Rumors of a “teen takeover” spread on social media ahead of the tree lighting, prompting officials at Chicago Public Schools to urge their students to stay away, according to the Sun-Times.
The victims were boys and girls ranging in age from 13 to 17, who mostly suffered from leg wounds.
open image in galleryPresident Donald Trump says Chicago residents are chanting to “bring in Trump” after a particularly violent weekend in the Windy City (AFP via Getty Images)The Windy City deployed an additional 700 cops ready for the festivities, “but clearly what we put in place did not do enough to prevent what we were concerned about from actually manifesting,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said.
Hundreds of Texas National Guard troops that had been stationed in Illinois since early October as part of Trump’s sweeping efforts to target undocumented immigrants in Democratic-led cities were ordered to return home last week.
About 300 Illinois National Guard troops will remain in the Chicago area, completing training. They are currently not legally allowed to conduct operations with the Department of Homeland Security, a DHS official said.
National Guard deployments have been one of the most controversial initiatives of Trump's second term, demonstrating a new willingness to use the military to accomplish his domestic goals.
open image in galleryTrump’s sending of National Guard troops to Illinois has been met with sharp backlash from local leaders and residents (Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)The move has also been highly contested by local officials, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, who has repeatedly argued that federal intervention in local law enforcement is unnecessary.
Trump has gone back and forth with Illinois officials for months, calling Chicago a “hellhole,” while Pritzker has sued to block the troops from entering the city, calling Trump a “wannabe dictator.”
While the troops do not play a law enforcement role, they have been tasked with protecting federal facilities, particularly those run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Meanwhile, Trump has also denied aid to thousands of Chicago residents from two major storms over the summer, according to a new Politico report.
The refusal is the first time since at least 2007 that any president has declined to help residents recover from such extensive damage to their homes, according to the report.
open image in galleryTroops have been stationed to protect ICE buildings in Illinois from protesters (Getty Images)The president rejected two aid requests from Pritzker on October 22, weeks after saying Pritzker and Johnson, the city’s mayor, “should be in jail” for “failing to protect” federal immigration officers.
When asked about Trump’s denials, White House spokesperson Abigail Johnson highlighted Illinois’ status as a sanctuary state for undocumented immigrants.
Pritzker “should know how to balance his budget for these types of repetitive losses, but instead prioritizes the state’s budget for illegals over Americans,” she told the outlet.
Trump handles every disaster request “with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement—not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters,” she said.
With reporting by the Associated Press
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