Fox News' Julie Banderas shuts down Dem strategist for bragging he hasn't stepped in a ‘pool of blood’
ATLANTA, CHICAGO: Fox News anchor Julie Banderas wasn’t letting Democratic strategist Fred Hicks skate by on Monday, September 1, after he brushed off crime stats cited by the Trump administration as justification for sending in the National Guard.
The on-air dust-up happened during a panel debate that got heated fast.
A hard kept secret about me.. Ignorance makes my blood boil. https://t.co/zQYBWwmHkG
— Julie Banderas (@JulieBanderas) September 2, 2025
Conservative strategist Luke Ball threw the first punch, asking how Democrats could “argue crime is under control” when “blood is flowing in the streets?”
Hicks didn’t buy it. “Gosh, if any of that were true it would be scary,” he shot back. “That’s not true. I went to Chicago, DC earlier this year, I’m in Atlanta right now — and I’ve not yet stepped in one single pool of blood. So, I’m not sure what America, what major city Luke is referencing, and not sure even when I’m in New York City, what he is referencing.”
Julie Banderas calls out Fred Hicks for dismissing crime stats
That’s when Julie Banderas jumped in, visibly stunned by Fred Hicks’ casual dismissal.
“Are you kidding?” she exclaimed. “Wait a minute. OK, so, you haven’t stepped — woah, woah, woah, woah, woah — So, you haven’t stepped in a pool of blood? I will be honest with you. Neither have I, thank God. But a lot of New Yorkers have and a lot of people in Chicago have.”
“You have read the crime rates, right? I mean, in Chicago alone, you want to talk about Chicago. Fifty-two people shot this weekend alone! Last weekend 26 — 7 people killed. That’s a pool of blood. That’s 52 pools of blood! Maybe you didn’t step in it, but I tell you, the crime rates and statistics are facts. Why are you saying — I think that’s irresponsible," she added.
Hicks doubled down, accusing Republicans of painting a skewed picture.
“Let me answer that," he said. "The picture that Luke is painting is one that is not representative of what’s happening in America. Is there crime? Absolutely. Should crime be dealt with? Absolutely. Are Democrats anti-police and defunders? No! [Chicago Mayor] Brandon Johnson is not a defunder. [Los Angeles mayor] Karen Bass is not a defunder.”
He also called out what he sees as Trump’s spin. “We don’t see this administration talking about going into Boise, Idaho, or other places like that. Always talking about Democrat-led cities. [Trump] has said that. He wants to go into Democratic cities. And that’s the problem. He is bringing policing and law and order and law enforcement into politics," Hicks added.
Donald Trump, JB Pritzker, and Brandon Johnson trade fire over Chicago
This comes after yet another bloody holiday in Chicago. At least 54 people were shot, seven of them fatally, over Labor Day weekend, including a drive-by attack that left seven victims wounded, police said. That’s the backdrop for Trump’s renewed promise to send federal agents and National Guard troops into the Windy City, whether local leaders like it or not.
On Saturday, Trump fired off a warning to Illinois Gov JB Pritzker that he “better straighten it out, FAST, or we’re coming!”
Pritzker has blasted the plan as flat-out illegal. He said at a news conference last week that Trump’s approach was “unprecedented and unwarranted. It is illegal, it is unconstitutional, it is un-American.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson hasn’t held back either, saying he has “grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the city of Chicago.” Johnson slammed Trump’s threat as “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound,” warning that sending in the Guard could “inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement.”
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