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Donald Trump has renewed his threats to send federal troops into Chicago, following a Labor Day weekend during which eight people were killed and more than 50 were injured in 37 separate shootings across the city.
In a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social, Trump called Chicago “the worst and most dangerous city in the World, by far” and said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker “needs help badly, he just doesn’t know it yet.” The president pledged to “solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in DC. Chicago will be safe again, and soon.”
Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have repeatedly rejected Trump’s threats to expand his crime crackdown into the city, noting that total violent crime has declined more than 20% over the past year. Pritzker has also called the deployment of troops “un-American.”
But on Tuesday’s “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough argued that the situation presents an opportunity for the Democratic governor: “I actually think that JB Pritzker should do something radical. I think he should pick up the phone, call the president, and say, ‘You know and I know you don’t have the constitutional authority to deploy the National Guard here and to police my [city]. You can do that in D.C. — you can’t do that in Chicago. But let’s partner up.’”
Scarborough suggested the two build “a partnership that’s constitutional, that respects the sort of balance of federalism between the federal government and the state government” and “work together to save lives.”
“It would be radical for us to figure out a way to actually do what I’ve been saying from the very beginning [with] Washington, and that is seeing politicians creating partnerships that protect their people,” Scarborough added.
The “Morning Joe” co-host also criticized “red state governors” for assisting Trump’s takeover of the nation’s capital, among them Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who dispatched his state’s National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., despite the fact that Memphis boasts a murder rate about twice as high as Washington.
“You’re actually going to help Washington, D.C., when you have cities that have twice the crime rate [in] your own state?” Scarborough asked.
“There are midsize and large American cities that are far more dangerous per capita than Washington, D.C.,” Scarborough continued. “And these clowns of governors are actually sending National Guard troops away from their more dangerous cities to go pose in front of a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in Dupont Circle?”
You can watch Scarborough’s analysis in the clip at the top of the page.