Donald Trump: Mayor of Chicago calls US president “unstable”

The mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, reacted with sharp words to a verbal attack from US President Donald Trump. He had declared on his Truth Social platform that Johnson and the governor of the state of Illinois, JB Pritzker, should “sit in prison” because they “failed to protect” immigration officials ICE.

Speaking on CNN, Johnson called Trump an “unstable, unpredictable person” who posed a threat to democracy. “It is certainly not the first time that Donald Trump has unjustifiably called for the arrest of a black man,” the Democrat said. “I’m not going anywhere. I will stand firm as mayor of this great city.”

The mayor once again accused the president of acting “outside the limits of the constitution.” National Guard troops deployed from the state of Texas were currently “just outside the city of Chicago,” although they had “no police powers” or the “authority to arrest persons.”

Governor Pritzker – also a Democrat – had already confirmed the day before that National Guard troops from Texas had arrived in Illinois, but were not yet visible on Chicago’s streets. According to media reports, they are staying in a military facility around 90 kilometers from the city.

The Trump administration says the soldiers should protect federal property and federal officers, such as the immigration agency ICE, against allegedly violent demonstrators. She also argues that in Chicago and other Democratic-run cities, crime is completely out of control and requires federal intervention on a city-by-city basis. Pritzker, on the other hand, speaks of “Trump’s invasion.” He and others accuse the president of deliberately escalating largely peaceful protests against the government in order to gradually normalize the use of the military domestically and thus take action against political opponents.

Illinois and Chicago are trying to stop the operation in court. Johnson emphasized on CNN that Trump’s actions were “illegal”; Courts in the state of Oregon have already confirmed this. He expects a similar decision in Illinois.