CHICAGO – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson gave a news conference last week where he condemned President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime. At one point, he said, “Jails and incarceration and law enforcement is a sickness that has not led to safe communities.”

During the news conference Tuesday, Johnson was asked about Trump’s suggestion he might send the National Guard to Chicago. Trump’s model of using anti-crime crackdowns was touted as a success by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, who had initially expressed concern.

“Is there any reason for the president to deploy National Guard troops or other armed military personnel to Chicago to focus on crime or violence?” the reporter asked.

Johnson responded by paraphrasing a quotation from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., saying, “You know, Dr. King referred to militarism as a sickness. Unfortunately, this president is full of that sickness. There are no circumstances under which the deployment of American soldiers should be sent in cities across America.”

Later in the same news conference, Johnson noted there were 970 murders in Chicago in 1974, 828 murders there in 1995, 778 murders in 2016 and more recently 805 murders there in 2021. He said that while even one murder is too many, he is upset by the idea that more law enforcement is the answer that people propose.

“I get so sick and tired of people in this country and in this city that believe that the only thing that you can offer Black people and poor people is jails, incarceration and police officers,” he said. “Dr. King said this right here in Chicago, the National Conference on New Politics. What did he say? He said, ‘Militarism is a sickness.’ I am trying to eradicate the sickness from this city and from this country.”

He went on to argue that nobody in Chicago has asked him to use troops to bring down crime, arguing he is using other methods to do so, and that law enforcement is actually harmful to the community.

“The fact of the matter is we are driving violence down in this city, and we’re using every single resource that’s available to us. Jails and incarceration and law enforcement is a sickness that has not led to safe communities.” he argued. “I’m going to work hard every single day to protect the people who are caught up in the violence in this city. Guess why? You want to know why? Because the vast majority of them look like me.”

He then asserted that the methods he is employing are working, and he refuses to let Trump’s administration take credit for it if they get involved.

Fox News Digital reached out to a White House spokesperson, who replied, “If these Democrats focused on fixing crime in their own cities instead of doing publicity stunts to criticize the president, their communities would be much safer. 

“Cracking down on crime should not be a partisan issue, but Democrats suffering from TDS are trying to make it one. They should listen to fellow Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser, who recently celebrated the Trump administration’s success in driving down violent crime in Washington, D.C.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office for additional comment.

Read more at FoxNews.com

Illinois politicians react

The other side:

State Rep. Patrick Sheehan (R-Lockport) condemned Johnson’s comments in a statement Monday morning.

“Mayor Johnson’s comments are reckless, insulting, and dangerous. To stand before the people of Chicago and declare that law enforcement is a ‘sickness’ is an affront to every police officer who has sworn an oath to protect and serve, and to every family that has lost a loved one to violent crime. Law enforcement is NOT a disease. It is the very foundation of public safety, the shield that protects communities from chaos, and the thin line that separates order from anarchy,” the statement read.

U.S. Reps. Mary Miller and Darin LaHood took to social media to speak out against Johnson.

“The sickness is Chicago’s uncontrolled murders and chaos, enabled by Democrat policies that tie the hands of police and empower criminals!” Miller posted on X.

LaHood called Johnson’s comments “truly disgusting.”

“This rhetoric vilifying law enforcement, coupled with his soft-on-crime policies, is what really endangers public safety,” LaHood posted to X.