CHICAGO – The National Guard is headed to Memphis, but President Donald Trump is still focusing on Chicago.
Trump said he would send the Guard to Chicago even if Gov. J.B. Pritzker objects.
What we know:
Pritzker said the president’s stance on deploying the National Guard changes by the day.
Last week, Trump appeared to back off, saying he would send a contingent to Memphis instead.
On Tuesday morning, however, Trump reversed course again, saying he was hearing from Chicago residents who want federal intervention.
“I’m going to go to Chicago early, against Pritzker. Pritzker is nothing. If PRitzker is smart, he’d say ‘please come in.’ Over the last week and a half, 11 people in Chicago were killed, murdered, and 38 were shot,” Trump said. “Chicago is a death trap…”
Asked repeatedly whether the White House plans to send the National Guard or federal agents such as the FBI or ATF, officials have not provided an answer.
Pritzker, pressed again Tuesday, said Trump’s on-again, off-again threats against Chicago remain inconsistent.
“You can’t take anything that he says seriously. From one day to the next, he’s attacking verbally. Sometimes he attacks sending his agents in. Sometimes he forgets. I think he might be suffering from some dementia. The next day he’ll wake up on the other side of the bed and stop talking about Chicago. So I’ve never really counted on anything that he said as real,” Pritzker said.
What’s next:
The Department of Homeland Security has announced a surge in immigration enforcement, a move that is legal under federal authority.
Sending in the National Guard over a governor’s objections, however, is not permitted under these circumstances.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX 32’s Paris Schutz.
