Trump calls Chicago violence unchecked, urges Pritzker to invite federal help
Trump says Chicago violence is at record levels after 41 people were shot over one weekend, and urges Governor J.B. Pritzker to invite federal law enforcement into the city.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States, called Chicago violence “unchecked and at record levels” and demanded that Illinois Gov.J.B. Pritzker invite federal law enforcement into the city.
Trump said 41 people were shot and three died in a single weekend, describing the toll as “out of control” and warning that “the city will die” without federal intervention. He framed the federal government as “a fine tuned crime fighting machine” that could enter only with an invitation from the mayor or governor. Trump said he was “awaiting the call” and pointed to Washington, D.C., as a model where crime would fall “FAST.”
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Chicago violence is unchecked and at record levels. It has never been worse! This weekend 41 people were shot, 3 DEAD. These numbers are becoming normalized. It is out of control! The city will die if the Federal Government, a fine tuned crime fighting machine, is not invited in, by the Mayor or Governor, to HELP. I am awaiting the call. Nobody should be forced to live under these conditions. Like D.C. and others, they will have almost no crime, FAST! The State and City can’t do what I do. Governor Pritzker, CALL!!! Trump” on September 1, 2026 at 3:45 AM ET.
This is Trump’s 1st message released today, and the last post was 5 hours ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 20 of his 650 posts over the last 30 days classified as Crime posts.
President Donald J. Trump urged Illinois Gov.
Joyce N. Boghosian / The White House
© copyright Flickr with permission
Trump returned to the White House after a landslide election victory in 2024 and has cited crime-fighting among his priorities, according to whitehouse.gov. His post again puts the focus on Pritzker, the person he directly named and urged to make the call.
J.B. Pritzker is the Democratic governor of Illinois, and the two have clashed repeatedly over federal law enforcement in Chicago. Trump said in an earlier truthsocial post that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Pritzker “should be in jail” for their response to immigration officers, according to nbcnews. That post came a day after Texas National Guard troops arrived in Illinois despite the Democrats’ opposition, according to nbcnews.
Pritzker responded to that earlier post by writing on X, “I will not back down,” and later told reporters that Trump is “a coward,” adding, “Come and get me,” according to nbcnews. Illinois sued to block the White House from deploying federalized troops to Chicago, and a judge scheduled a hearing while declining to sign a temporary restraining order, according to nbcnews. The dispute over federal intervention in Chicago has now stretched across multiple public clashes between the two leaders.
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