Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker told President Trump to take his federal law enforcement and shove it after Mr. Trump criticized a violent shooting incident in Chicago and offered help.
In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump told Mr. Pritzker and Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson that he’s waiting for their phone calls to request federal assistance to clean up crime in the city.
“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,” Mr. Trump posted.
“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!!!”
Mr. Trump, who has routinely made this offer to leaders of cities facing violent crime, announced over the weekend he will visit Chicago this month for the PGA’s Presidents Cup, which is scheduled for Sept. 22-27 at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.
The president, an ardent golfer, said on social media he would attend “at the request of the PGA Tour and its Great new Commissioner, Brian Rolapp.”
Mr. Pritzker responded to Mr. Trump’s upcoming visit by saying in a statement: “Donald Trump has attacked Chicago and Illinois at every turn of his term, like joking about the smell of deportations in the morning and sending masked agents into our neighborhoods. Now, he wants to come here for golf.”
Mr. Pritzker continued, “He is neither wanted here nor needed here. But if he is going to spend time in DuPage County, he can leave the country club and explain to Illinoisans why his tariffs have made groceries, electricity and everything else too damned expensive.
“He will not. He will watch golf, he will call our city names, and he will get on a plane. And every day he is here, and every day after he leaves, I will keep doing what I have done since the day his agents showed up: use every tool I have at my disposal to protect the people of Illinois. He knows where to find me. We are ready for this fight.”
Mr. Trump has been at loggerheads with Mr. Pritzker since last September’s Operation Midway Blitz, which was a federal immigration enforcement surge launched by the Department of Homeland Security, including ICE, in and around Chicago, with threats of sending the National Guard into the city.
The president also mentioned Chicago’s crime problem following a violent Juneteenth weekend, when multiple shootings happened.
Before the announcement about the president’s planned visit to his state, Mr. Pritzker asked Mr. Trump to suspend federal taxes for farmers, as the price of fertilizer has risen since the start of the war in Iran.
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