A CNN segment aimed at challenging President Trump’s tough-on-crime message backfired this week when a Chicago resident stunned the network’s correspondent by welcoming the idea of federal troops in her city.
During a street interview, the reporter asked the woman for her reaction to Trump’s suggestion that he’ll “probably” send the National Guard into Chicago to address persistent violence. Instead of expressing outrage, the resident said she was enthusiastic about the proposal.
“My first reaction is that this is a good thing,” she said. “The governor as well as the mayor should be on board with [deploying troops], just so we can get a bit more of security in Chicago.”
When pressed on the fact that official statistics show violent crime has declined in Chicago over the past year, the woman did not budge. “Do you feel safer?” the reporter asked. “No, not at all,” she shot back. “Especially with the police being defunded.”
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The exchange underscores the gap between crime statistics touted by politicians and the lived experiences of residents in some of America’s most violent cities. For many, numbers on a chart cannot replace the fear they feel walking through their neighborhoods.
Trump has steadily grown his support in Chicago since entering national politics. While still a Democratic stronghold, his share of the vote increased from just 12.41% in 2016 to 21.85% in 2024, according to CBS Chicago. That represents 189,170 votes in the latest election, more than 53,000 above his 2016 total. By contrast, Kamala Harris significantly underperformed compared to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden in the Windy City.
The debate over federal intervention is not new. Earlier this year, Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops into Los Angeles to control riots following ICE raids, and the administration has pointed to falling crime rates in Washington, D.C. as proof of success.
Still, Chicago’s Democratic leaders remain firmly opposed. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. J.B. Pritzker accused Trump of acting like a “dictator” for suggesting he could take control of the city’s policing. On MSNBC, Johnson even clashed with host Joe Scarborough over whether adding 5,000 police officers would make residents safer.
The White House hit back through spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, who accused Pritzker of ignoring the problem. “If these Democrats spent half as much time addressing crime in their cities as they did going on cable news to complain about President Trump, their residents would be a lot safer,” she told Fox News.
Meanwhile, Fox Chicago reports that more illegal guns are confiscated in Chicago than in Los Angeles and New York City combined, a sobering statistic that reinforces why many residents may see federal help as not only welcome, but necessary.
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