Trump Says He'll 'Send In Feds' Unless Chicago Fixes 'Carnage' In Latest Twitter Prattle

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 25, 2017 3:48AM

Getty Imgaes / Photo: Alex Wong

Going back to what's becoming one of his favorite chestnuts, President Donald Trump—say it with us now—took to Twitter to chastise Chicago for not being able to fix its violent crime problem and threatened to "send in the feds" if the city doesn't "fix the horrible "carnage.""

Trump cited the fact that Chicago is indeed outpacing homicide numbers from last year, but again offered only a vague, so-open-as-to-be-meaningless federal solution. "If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible "carnage" going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!" he tweeted.

Of course, this isn't the first time Trump has delivered such a tweet. Earlier this month, Trump tweeted that Mayor Rahm Emanuel should "ask for federal help" if he couldn't fix Chicago violence.

Now, as then, what exactly "the feds" means remains a bit of mystery. Such a claim could conceivably run the gamut from the national guard to the FBI to martial law. (One wonders if Trump's obsession with federal intervention related to Chicago will extend to his Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions' handling of the Department of Justice report on the Chicago Police Department. Or federal gun control laws, for that matter.)

Trump seems to have also tied in one of his other favorite pastimes into Tuesday night's tweet: spouting about what he sees that moment on his television. Trump's tweet came hot on the heels of an appearance on Fox News by Horace Cooper, of the National Center for Public Policy Research, in which he used the word "carnage" to describe Chicago violence. Trump's figures also seemed directly lifted from the television segment.

Trump in July tweeted that crime in Chicago and other "inner cities" is "not good." One month later, he claimed he could solve Chicago crime in one week. He also drew on Chicago crime during a September presidential debate in which he advocated for stop and frisk to be administered by CPD—despite it being tried and failed.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday night: "As the Mayor said just a few hours ago, the Chicago Police Department is more than willing to work with the federal government to build on our partnerships with DOJ, FBI, DEA and ATF and boost federal prosecution rates for gun crimes in Chicago."

Johnson was referencing Emanuel's appearance on WTTW's Chicago Tonight, during which the mayor said federal funds and federal gun control measures would be welcomed by local government.

This post has been updated.