Acting on US President Donald Trump’s directive, US National Guard troops appeared on the streets of Washington DC Thursday. The president has deployed the troops to the city and took control of its police force as he argued violent crime was out of control. Officials told BBC that 800 National Guard troops are expected to be deployed, as well as 500 federal law enforcement agents.
But will he stop there, or will other cities be next? Trump previously ordered National Guard troops to begin protection duties in Los Angeles and the surrounding area following unrest in January over ICE deportation raids.
These cities on Trump’s radar? “We’re not going to lose our cities over this. This will go further. We’re starting very strongly with D.C., and we’re going to clean it up real quick,” Trump had told reporters during the White House presser this Monday. “We’re going to take back our capital. And then we’ll look at other cities also. But other cities are studying what we’re doing.”
ALSO READ: US citizens to receive stimulus check of $2,000 in August? What has Trump said about economic relief
He reportedly has set his sights on five major US cities after launching a crime crackdown in Washington DC, according to The Sun. The report says that US cities such as Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Baltimore is also on president’s radar.
In a firm announcement, Trump said that he was going to “take back the capital” from crime and homelessness by federalizing the district’s police force. The president said the city had been “taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals” as well as “drugged out maniacs and homeless people.”
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse,” he told reporters. In his address, Trump named Los Angeles, Baltimore, Oakland, New York, and Chicago as other cities that are in a “very bad” place.
“We’re not going to lose our cities over this. This will go further,: he said. “We’re starting very strongly with DC, and we’re going to clean it up real quick.”
ALSO READ: Millions of US citizens to receive $1,390 stimulus soon? Check if you qualify and when to expect it
Democrats respond Angry Democrats have fumed over the president’s threats and s
Read More