Trump Renews Threat to Invade Chicago, Governor Pritzker Vows to Fight Back

President Donald Trump escalated his war on Democratic-led cities Monday, again threatening to send military forces into Chicago even as state and city leaders insist there’s no emergency and promise to fight any unlawful deployment.

“We can go anywhere on less than 24 hours’ notice,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when pressed about Chicago. “They need help. We may wait. We may or may not, we may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) swiftly pushed back, saying Illinois never asked for federal troops and that Trump has no legal authority to unilaterally seize control of the Illinois National Guard.

“There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention. What President Trump is doing is unprecedented and unwarranted. It is illegal. It is unconstitutional. And it is un-American,” Pritzker said in a press conference. “This is not about fighting crime. This is about the President and his complicit lackey, Stephen Miller, searching for ways to lay the groundwork to circumvent our democracy, militarize our cities, and end elections.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) emphasized that crime rates have fallen sharply this year, with homicides down nearly 30%, robberies down 35% and shootings down 40%, according to police data.

Johnson also argued that an outside military presence would be counterproductive.

“The problem with the President’s approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound. Unlawfully deploying the National Guard to Chicago has the potential to inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement,” Johnson said. “No matter what happens, the City of Chicago will not waver. We are Chicago. We will not bend or cower, and we will never break.”

Trump’s Chicago gambit follows a pattern — forceful federal action first, legal justification second — seen in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., earlier this year.

In June, Trump ordered 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard members into Los Angeles during protests tied to mass immigration raids — over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). California sued, and a federal trial is underway.

A ruling in the California case could set a precedent for what happens in Chicago, either bolstering Trump’s claimed authority or severely limiting it.

Then, in August, Trump declared a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., invoking his authority under the D.C. Home Rule Act to seize control of the Metropolitan Police Department and activate the D.C. National Guard.

Unlike D.C. — a federal district without a governor — Illinois controls its own Guard. To send troops broadly into a state without consent, a president typically must invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used statute that allows domestic troop deployments in extreme cases like rebellion, or claim another extraordinary legal basis.

The Pentagon has done preliminary planning for a Chicago operation — discussions that officials say often occur before any formal order — but no final decision has been presented to senior military leadership.