Dem
47
GOP
53
Donald Trump has already gotten the media, law firms and universities under his thumb, so his next target is blue cities. That is easier than going after blue states because states have more power, money, and law enforcement personnel—especially the National Guard—and can fight back. Also, the Supreme Court tends to have respect for "states rights," even though that usually works out to "red states rights."
The first city Trump went after is Los Angeles, because it's very brown, and very blue, and it just so happens to be the current hometown of Kamala Harris. Next up, and targeted even more aggressively, was D.C., because that is where he is living now, it is very symbolic, and the federal government actually has some legal basis for mucking around in D.C. affairs. However, taking over D.C. is probably only phase I. Trump has signaled that Chicago is the next place federal troops may be deployed, despite this being a clear violation of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act. But who cares about laws when you have power?
Trump said of the Chicagoans: "They're wearing red hats ... African American ladies, beautiful ladies, are saying, 'Please, President Trump, come to Chicago. Please. I did great with the Black vote, as you know." We do know that many young Black men switched sides and voted for Trump in 2024. We wonder if having regular Army troops in town intimidating Black men will cause them to think twice about what they have brought on. Since there would be massive publicity from a federal takeover of Chicago, videos of interactions of troops and regular citizens, especially Black ones, might just have an effect on voting patterns next time around.
Trump said that New York City is next up, after Chicago. Baltimore and Oakland are also on his list, but he didn't rank them. He also said he could keep the troops in those places as long as he wants. If he did, would Congress do something about it? Don't hold your breath.
If Trump calls in the Army, this would be a huge (and illegal) escalation. The president does have some authority to federalize the National Guard in emergency situations, but using the Armed Forces, especially when there is no emergency, takes this to a whole new level. Will Trump be inspired by what is going on in Ukraine to have the Air Force bomb American cities? Will the generals follow such orders? Questions, questions.
Meanwhile, yesterday Democrats pushed back on Trump's threats. The former mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, said: "When you look at what he did in D.C., he's not going to actually deal with crime. This is an attempt to deal with cities that are welcoming cities, known as sanctuary cities, and deal with immigration." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that Trump had "no basis, no authority to send federal troops or agents to Chicago." Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) said: "There is no emergency that warrants the president of the United States federalizing the Illinois National Guard or sending in federal agents." But Democrats were careful not to minimize crime. They called for more police on the beat.
At the moment, words are all the Democrats really have. Late yesterday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the National Guard troops that are patrolling Washington to start carrying guns. There is no justification for this; no troops have been threatened or endangered. Hegseth is just trying to ratchet up the tension, in hopes that there will be an act of violence, which he can then use as a pretext for going full-on martial law. So, if Democrats try to meet force with any sort of force of their own (say, if Pritzker orders the Illinois State Police to guard Chicago), that will be giving Trump & Co. exactly what they want. Once Trump does act, assuming he doesn't pull a TACO, then the leaders of blue states and cities can file lawsuits, but even that takes time, and there's no guarantee of victory, or that Trump will abide by a judge's orders even if he does lose.
Put simply, it's an asymmetric war (on its own people) that the White House is waging right now. It may not remain that way, but that's how it is right now. (V & Z)