Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), responding to President Trump’s remarks that he and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) should be arrested, called Trump “unstable” and “unhinged.”
“First of all, this president is unstable, unhinged, a double-minded individual that, quite frankly, is a threat to our democracy,” Johnson said during an appearance on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”
“And it’s certainly not the first time that Donald Trump has called for the arresting of Black man unjustly. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay firm as the mayor of this amazing city, which was voted nine years in a row the best big city in America, and we’re going to defend all of Chicago,” he added.
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Earlier in the day, Trump said Johnson and Pritzker “should be in jail for failing to protect [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Officers!”
His comments come after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said there had been resistance to the uptick in federal agents in the Windy City.
Pritzker and Johnson have both rejected the push to deploy hundreds of National Guard soldiers to Illinois in an effort to quell criminal activity and crack down on immigration enforcement.
“I will not back down. Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?” Pritzker said in a Wednesday post responding to Trump’s remarks alleging he should be jailed.
“His masked agents already are grabbing people off the street. Separating children from their parents. Creating fear. Taking people for ‘how they look,’” he added in a follow-up post.
Johnson said he’s hoping the courts will help rectify the “illegal” push to militarize the city.
“There’s been no communications with my administration and the federal government. What we do know is that this president is working outside the bounds of the constitution, and that there are National Guard from the state of Texas that are being ‘trained’ just outside of the city of Chicago,” Johnson told CNN.
“And keep in mind these individuals do not have policing powers. They do not have arresting powers.”
Illinois and Chicago on Monday sued to block President Trump’s deployment of National Guard members to the city.
The suit followed a Saturday temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s deployment of 200 National Guard members to Portland, Ore.
“The judge right now in Illinois is looking at what exactly is the mission of the National Guard from the state of Texas. We know this is illegal, unconstitutional,” the Chicago mayor said.
“That’s already been proven in the courts in Oregon. and we fully expect the same ruling to take place here in the state of Illinois,” he added.