President Donald Trump recently deployed the National Guard to the streets of Washington, D.C. saying he would rescue the city from “crime, bloodshed, bedlam, squalor, and worse.” But violent crime in the capital is at a 30-year low.
Now, the president says Chicago is likely next … but crime here is down too.
What Trump Is Saying — And What’s True
After a Friday press conference where he identified the city as his next target for National Guard deployment, Trump doubled down Monday, calling Chicago “a disaster” and “a killing field.”
Though the president’s claims about Chicago crime were not specific, recent data shows a significant decline in violent crime. During the first half of 2025, homicides dropped by about 33%, with 192 reported. That’s the steepest drop-off for that time frame in over a decade. Meanwhile, shootings were down 39% and robberies were down 33% year over year. Year to date, the city says overall violent crime is down 21.6%.
Trends are similar nationwide. Nationally, Chicago is No. 16 out of 30 in terms of the most dangerous large cities.
Multiple times, Trump has also cited Chicago’s no cash bail policy as a driver of disorder. “We're gonna end that in Chicago. We're gonna change the statute," he said in mid-August.
Cashless bail is a state statute — not a local one. In 2024, data showed no rise in violent or property crime one year after the elimination of cash bail.
Trump ended Monday’s press conference by signing an executive order to end cashless bail in D.C. In his own press conference Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker highlighted Chicago’s violence prevention efforts and pointed out that 13 of the the top 20 cities in terms of homicide rate are in states with Republican governors. None of those areas are being singled out by Trump.
What’s Legal?
Trump has broader legal power over D.C. than Chicago, because the nation’s capital is technically a federal district. That means the president can micromanage its local laws and police force.
Despite lacking that kind of control here, the administration could attempt to justify National Guard deployment by invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy the military to suppress rebellion.
In June, over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles to quell protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Trump claimed these demonstrations were a form of rebellion. Today, about 250 troops remain while Trump and Newsom battle it out in federal court.
On Monday, Pritzker called the president’s plans "unprecedented, unwarranted … illegal, unconstitutional, and un-American.” He maintains that no one from the executive branch has reached out to him, Mayor Brandon Johnson, or local law enforcement.
