At a White House press conference in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump announced Space Command’s move to Huntsville, Alabama. He then pivoted to Chicago after a reporter’s question, calling the city a “hellhole” and citing weekend shootings in which nine people were killed and more than 50, he said, were hit by gunfire.
He said he has an obligation to send in the National Guard. “We’re going in. I didn’t say when, and we’re going to do it anyway. We have the right to do it,” he said.
He accused Illinois leaders of refusing protection and argued that Chicago residents were pleading for him to send in troops. He pointed to Washington, D.C., as his model, calling it a “safe zone.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pushed back, blasting the talk as a “reality show stunt.”
While the president floats putting boots on city streets, the timing has not been set. State consent appears optional, and the governor remains defiant.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
