House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday backed President Trump’s plans to use cities he deems dangerous because of their crime levels as a “training ground” for the military, though he seemed to draw a distinction in suggesting it would be National Guard members taking part in such actions.
“I can tell you what‘s in the president‘s mind and heart, because I talked to him all the time daily about this. He’s very proud of the fact that we have brought crime down in Washington, D.C. You could go from your car to the studio today without fear of somebody jumping you,” Johnson said during an appearance on CNN’s “Inside Politics.”
“It‘s a win-win scenario because National Guardsmen are proud of that duty that they performed, and they brought crime down dramatically in D.C. And all of us are safe. Our staffs are safe. They’re not walking in fear right now. I think we should do that in every major city run by Democrats who aren’t serious,” he added.
The president declared a “war from within” earlier in the day and said military force should be used to quell violence in Democratic cities.
“I told [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth], we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military — National Guard, but our military, because we’re going into Chicago very soon,” Trump said during an address to top generals and admirals in Quantico, Va., on Tuesday.
“That’s a big city with an incompetent governor,” he added of Chicago.
When directly asked about Trump’s remarks, Johnson said, “I don‘t know what‘s being implied by that” before discussing the use of the National Guard.
GOP lawmakers have been broadly supportive of sending the National Guard to Democratic-led cities in the name of law and order.
Trump has discussed sending troops to Chicago; Portland, Ore.; and Memphis, Tenn. He has sent National Guard members to Washington, D.C., and National Guard and members of the Marines to Los Angeles.
Democratic officials have described the move as a means to incite fear, uncertainty and violence.
On Wednesday, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said the president was an “idiot” for suggesting cities be used as training grounds.
Trump “doesn’t actually understand how the military works,” Gallego said during an appearance on CNN.
“The first thing it’s going to be is that most U.S. citizens will stand against that in civil protests, and you’ll have many of us joining them in that if they try to do such a thing.”
Earlier in the year, former President Obama similarly warned of division caused by deploying soldiers.
“The erosion of basic principles like due process and the expanding use of our military on domestic soil puts the liberties of all Americans at risk, and should concern Democrats and Republicans alike,” Obama wrote on social media.