U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will direct federal law enforcement intervention to Chicago and Baltimore, despite local officials in both places opposing such moves.
Asked by reporters in the Oval Office if he had decided to send National Guard troops to Chicago, Trump said, “We’re going in,” but added, “I didn’t say when.”
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Trump has already sent National Guard troops into Washington and federalized the nation’s capital’s police force. More recently, he’s said he’s planning similar moves in other cities, particularly those run by Democratic officials.
Trump said he’d like Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to call him and say, “send in the troops.” Pritzker has opposed the move.
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“If the governor of Illinois would call up, call me up, I would love to do it,” Trump said. “Now, we’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it.”
He added that he has an “obligation to protect this country, and that includes Baltimore.”
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