Trump declares he has ‘the right to do anything’ he wants over sending troops to Chicago
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump went full strongman during a marathon Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, August 26, that clocked in at three hours and 17 minutes.
Cabinet officials lined up to heap praise on their boss while Trump fielded questions from reporters and dropped some eyebrow-raising remarks about his own powers.
The president has already sent the Guard into Los Angeles in June and Washington, DC this month, both times brushing aside the wishes of local officials. His plan to march boots into Chicago has gotten a similar reception.
JB Pritzker vs Donald Trump
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is not buying what President Trump is selling.
“This weekend, we learned from the media that Donald Trump has been planning for quite a while now to deploy armed military personnel to the streets of Chicago,” Pritzker warned Monday in Chicago. “This is exactly the type of overreach that our country’s Founders warned against.”
But Trump wasn’t losing sleep over the pushback.
“I would have much more respect for Pritzker,” he shot back Tuesday, “if he’d call me up and say, ‘I have a problem. Can you help me fix it?’”
Donald Trump says he has the 'right to do anything'
Donald Trump went even further, laying out his version of presidential power.
“I have the right to do anything I wanna do. I’m the President of the United States,” he declared. “If I think our country’s in danger — and it is in danger in these cities — I can do it, no problem going in and solving, you know, his difficulties. But it would be nice if they’d call in and say, ‘Would you do it?’ And we do it in conjunction.”
He argued his administration had a natural bond with cops, even when mayors were against him.
“Now, we work very well with the police because we naturally get along with the police. So, the police and us work really well together, whether the mayor is opposed or whether – I mean, you have a really rotten mayor there, too. He’s got a six percent approval rating in Chicago," he continued.
He said Black women were begging him to swoop in.
“And I see Black women wearing a red MAGA hat last night on television. ‘Please let the president come in. My son was attacked. My this–.’ You have a force of Black women, Black Women. They’re like, ‘Only Trump.’ They want Trump to come in," he added.
Donald Trump brags about support from Black women
President Trump has insisted over and over that Black women in Chicago are pleading for his help.
“They are wearing red hats, just like this one,” he said last week. “But they are wearing red hats. African American ladies, beautiful ladies are saying, ‘Please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please.’”
He also reminded everyone how well he thought he did with Black voters.
“I did great with the Black vote, as you know. And they want something to happen. So I think Chicago will be our next, and then we will help with New York," he said.
Back on August 11, Trump announced his administration was taking control of the Metro DC Police Department and sending the National Guard onto the streets in an effort to cut crime in the nation’s capital.
That same day, he admitted he was ready to expand the show of force, dropping hints about shipping troops to both Chicago and New York to “take a bite out of crime.”
