US President Donald Trump defended his use of the National Guard for policing in Washington, DC, and his threats to deploy troops to other cities, insisting he is not acting like an authoritarian. Speaking at a White House event on August 25, Trump said: “They say: ‘We don’t need him. Freedom, freedom, he’s a dictator.’ A lot of people are saying maybe we like a dictator. I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and a smart person.”
“Things People are Begging for:
2. No Medicaid and SNAP cuts
3. Release of the Epstein Files
Things People are NOT begging for:
1. An authoritarian power grab of major cities,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Trump dismissed such criticism, calling the governor a “slob” and asserting: “I don’t like going to a town, city, place, a state and then be criticized by some corrupt or incompetent governor where crime is rampant. People want us there.”
DC deployment and crime context
The President began sending National Guard troops to Washington earlier this month, declaring a crime emergency, despite data reportedly showing violent crime trending down.
Political reactions
The mayor of Chicago and Governor Pritzker, both Democrats, have publicly opposed potential deployments, warning that they would be unwelcome. Trump’s comments highlight ongoing tensions between federal and local authorities over the scope and authority of National Guard deployments.
Trump’s justification
Throughout his remarks, Trump framed the deployment as a common-sense response to rising crime, defending the federal action as necessary to maintain safety in major cities and to support local law enforcement.
