Chicago Knows Donald Trump. He's Like a Crooked Alderman on Steroids.

Donald Trump wants to send troops to Chicago. He says he’s being begged by “beautiful black women” to militarize our streets and make us safe from violent crime. It is a lie that no reporter, not in Chicago, not in Washington, and not on the Sunday news shows, should repeat.

Violent crime is down in Chicago, as it is other big cities. Violence reduction strategies funded during the Biden years are working. If Trump cared about continued progress, he would support this work. Instead, he defunded it.

Giant YTD drops in Chicago for basically all crimes.

Huge 4-reductions in Chicago for all violence. Murders are down FIFTY PERCENT.

Property crimes are dropping, tho still higher than before. But MRAPs don’t stop theft.

This is all pretext. Yet the WaPo subhed frames it as a “crime” issue.

— John Pfaff (@johnpfaff.bsky.social) 2025-08-24T00:58:51.668Z

In fact, Trump has never cared about violent crime in Chicago. Earlier this year, for example, Mr. Trump commuted the federal sentence of Chicago’s most violent and dangerous gang leader, Larry Hoover. Fortunately for those of us who live here, Hoover is also serving a state sentence that Trump has no power to lift. Commuting Hoover’s sentence and concern for violent crime in our streets are absolutely incompatible.

Donald Trump also pardoned more than 50 Illinois residents who were convicted or charged with participating in his January 6th insurrection. Among them are dangerous criminals, people with prior convictions for assault and battery, for burglary, for drug possession and distribution, and for firearms violations. Commuting those sentences and concern for violent crime in our streets are, again, absolutely incompatible.

https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/chicago-knows-donald-trump-hes-like