Trump tells US troops he is ready to send 'more than the National Guard' into cities

Source: Reuters

October 29, 2025 12:39 AM EDT Updated 9 hours ago


Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has told U.S. troops he was prepared to send "more than the National Guard" into U.S. cities if needed, in the latest demonstration of his willingness to escalate a confrontation with Democratic-led local governments that oppose the deployments.

Trump delivered his remarks on Tuesday aboard the George Washington aircraft carrier, which was docked at the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo. His speech, which occasionally touched on partisan issues, was interrupted by applause and cheers from the troops several times.

"We have cities that are troubled ... and we're sending in our National Guard. And if we need more than the National Guard, we'll send more than the National Guard because we're going to have safe cities," Trump said. When later asked about those remarks, Trump said he would do it if necessary. "It hasn’t been necessary. We’re doing a great job without that. As you know, I’m allowed to do that," he told reporters on Air Force One during a flight to South Korea on Wednesday.

Since June, Trump has deployed National Guard troops to various Democratic-led jurisdictions in an extraordinary expansion of the use of the military for domestic purposes. Trump has sent them to Los Angeles, Memphis and Washington, D.C., and is waging court battles to try to dispatch them to Portland and Chicago. In Los Angeles, Trump also took the rare step of deploying active duty Marines, although their job was to protect federal agents and federal property and they have since been withdrawn.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-us-troops-he-is-ready-send-more-than-national-guard-into-cities-2025-10-28/