Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, already notorious for his soft-on-crime policies and endless race-baiting, delivered one of the most irresponsible speeches yet in response to news that federal reinforcements could soon be coming to his collapsing city. With crime spiraling out of control and illegal immigration draining resources, President Trump has signaled that Chicago could be next in line for a National Guard deployment. Johnson’s reaction? A call for Chicagoans to “defend” their city from the president.
The meltdown began after Trump spoke about the successful National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C., which is already restoring order to the nation’s capital. “D.C. is very exciting and a lot of people say, ‘Whoa, where’s he going from there?’” Trump said. “Well, I have calls from politicians begging me to go to Chicago, begging me to go to New York, begging me to go to Los Angeles. Chicago is a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent, and we’ll straighten that one out probably next.”
Trump added that residents themselves are pleading for federal intervention: “The people in Chicago … are screaming for us to come … so I think Chicago will be our next and then we’ll help with New York.”
Meanwhile, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that hundreds of federal agents are already being sent to Chicago to bolster ICE operations and enforce immigration law. “We’ve already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago and throughout Illinois and other states,” Noem said. “But we do intend to add more resources to those operations.”
Rather than welcoming help to restore law and order, Johnson gave a radical speech that sounded more like an insurrection call than civic leadership. Whipping up a crowd of activists, he thundered: “Are you prepared to defend this land?!” He then launched into a historically illiterate tirade, claiming Chicago was “built by slaves” and “indigenous people”—a line so detached from reality it borders on parody. In truth, Chicago was built by free-enterprising immigrants who saw opportunity in a thriving Midwest economy.
But facts never get in the way of Johnson’s rhetoric. He doubled down, declaring: “The people united will always prevail. I need you all to stand firm, to stand strong if this president decides to continue to break this constitution.”
That statement drew sharp backlash from conservatives, with The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh bluntly calling it “treason.” On X, Walsh posted: “1) This is treason. Brandon Johnson should be arrested, charged, convicted, and then given the requisite punishment for a capital offense. 2) Chicago was not in any sense built by ‘slaves and indigenous people.’”
The contrast couldn’t be clearer. President Trump is offering real solutions to a city drowning in crime, drugs, and illegal immigration. Johnson, instead of facing reality, is inciting his citizens to resist the very efforts that could finally bring them safety and stability.
Chicagoans deserve better than a mayor who plays victim, rewrites history, and encourages defiance against law and order. The question now is simple: Will Chicago continue to suffer under failed progressive leadership, or will it embrace the kind of accountability and enforcement President Trump is ready to deliver?
