National Guard troops began arriving at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, as Democratic city leaders warned Donald Trump against expanding his law-and-order powers into other major cities.
The U.S. president announced on Monday that he was deploying the National Guard to the nation’s capital and placing the city police under federal control, despite violent crime rates being at their lowest in 30 years, according to The Guardian.
“We have other cities that are bad,” Trump told reporters, mentioning Democratic strongholds Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.
“And then, of course, we have Baltimore and Oakland,” he added.
All five cities mentioned by Trump are led by Black mayors, most of whom openly condemned the president’s move.
Brandon Johnson, mayor of Chicago, said in a statement that sending the National Guard would only destabilize the city and undermine their public safety efforts.
Brandon Scott, mayor of Baltimore, said, “When it comes to public safety in Baltimore, he [Trump] should stop the right-wing propaganda and look at the facts.”
“Baltimore is the safest it has been in over 50 years,” Scott emphasized.
Barbara Lee, mayor of Oakland, tweeted that “President Trump’s characterization of Oakland is inaccurate and based on fearmongering in an attempt to score political points.”
President Trump’s announcement came during a Monday press conference where he spoke about cracking down on crime and addressing homelessness in the nation’s capital.
