Throughout the 2016 campaign, President Donald J. Trump repeatedly spoke out about the out-of-control murder rate in Obama’s hometown of Chicago, sharply criticizing the city’s Democrat Mayor Rahm Emanuel – an Obama lackey – for failing to protect its citizens.
In response to the Chicago mayor’s criticism of Trump, the president blasted Emanuel for presiding over ever-increasing murder rate in the city and threatened to intervene:
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
Earlier in January, President Trump took to Twitter to voice his concern over the alarming number of murders in Chicago during 2016:
Chicago murder rate is record setting – 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If Mayor can’t do it he must ask for Federal help!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017
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According to CNN, there have been 28 homicides and 182 shootings in Chicago in the first month of 2017:
Trump has previously encouraged Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to ask for federal assistance. Emanuel has not addressed Trump’s tweet, or spoken about the violence as it relates to possible federal intervention.
Mayor Emanuel has specified areas he’d like the federal government’s help — including gun control, gun tracking, prosecution for gun crimes and help increase funding for more police officers.
“Over the years the federal government’s stepped back their resources, which we have stepped up,” Emanuel said in an interview with WTTW’s Chicago Tonight on Monday. “The federal government can be a partner, and to be honest they haven’t been for decades.”
Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, yet murders continue to rise each year, signalling that more gun control policies will not end the city’s carnage. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been unable to keep his streets safe, so it might be in his best interest to seek federal assistance rather than continue to allow innocent citizens to be gunned down on a daily basis.
Do you think President Trump should intervene to stop the murders in Chicago? Share your thoughts below!