Trump: Chicago needs 'big, strong soldiers'

Trump: Chicago needs ‘big, strong soldiers’

September 19, 2025/
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By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump says Chicago needs big, strong soldiers to get the city into shape.

The president took questions from reporters on Air Force One while returning from London on Thursday.

Trump said 11 people were murdered, 28 were shot and a hundred were shot at in Chicago the previous weekend. He then referred to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“That’s what I call dangerous, and Pritzker’s going out and saying, ‘We’ve got crime under control,’” Trump said.

The president said crime did go down after he put more FBI agents in the city, but there is only so much they can do.

“What you really need is our big, strong soldiers to get them into shape. We’re not letting Chicago fail,” Trump said.

The president said Washington D.C. is now safe after he sent in the National Guard last month.

“We’re going to do the same job in Memphis, and we’re going to Chicago,” Trump said.

The president referred to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson when he said London Mayor Sadiq Khan is among the worst mayors in the world.

“I think he’s the equivalent of the mayor of Chicago. I think he’s done a terrible job. Crime in London is through the roof,” Trump said.

Johnson has repeatedly criticized Trump since the president was inaugurated in January.

The mayor did not mention Trump by name when he spoke Friday at a groundbreaking in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.

“We will not allow any of the tyranny that is working to divide and ultimately to conquer our communities prevail,” Johnson said.

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