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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has spent weeks criticizing President Donald Trump‘s threats to deploy National Guard troops to the city — a stance that some Republicans call a sharp reversal from the Democratic Party’s long-held opposition to “states’ rights” arguments.
While the legality of Trump’s actions remains to be seen — his federalization efforts are being reviewed by several federal and appeals courts this week — the move has sparked a fierce debate across party lines. Democrats, for their part, have denounced the move as unlawful and beyond the scope of Trump’s authority.
“The president has declared war on poor people,” Johnson said during a press conference, responding to Trump’s plan to send National Guard troops to Chicago. His comments followed a series of warnings from Democratic governors and mayors who argue that federalizing Guard units is both unnecessary and an unlawful intrusion into local authority.
Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators argue that Democrats are contradicting their past stance on state sovereignty. “Democrats were out of touch with reality the moment they said they don’t need President Trump’s help; everything is fine in Chicago,” Gianno Caldwell, a Chicago native and founder of the Caldwell Institute of Public Safety, told Fox News Digital.
PRITZKER SUES TRUMP TO BLOCK NATIONAL GUARD ACTION IN ILLINOIS
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speak during a news conference in Chicago on Aug. 25, 2025. (AFP via Getty Images)
“When you look at the numbers, you look at the crime, 75% of the murders that are committed in Chicago are going unsolved. Seventy-five percent — that is a serious issue, a systemic issue that Chicagoans are dealing with on a daily basis,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell also pointed to a 2012 clash over the Obama administration’s Secure Communities program, which required local police to share fingerprint…
