After Washington DC, Trump targets these five cities to launch militarized crime crackdown. Is yours on the list?

Acting on US President Donald Trump's directive, US National Guard troops appeared on the streets of Washington DC Thursday. The president has deployed the troops to the city and took control of its police force as he argued violent crime was out of control. Officials told BBC that 800 National Guard troops are expected to be deployed, as well as 500 federal law enforcement agents.

But will he stop there, or will other cities be next? Trump previously ordered National Guard troops to begin protection duties in Los Angeles and the surrounding area following unrest in January over ICE deportation raids.

These cities on Trump's radar?

"We're not going to lose our cities over this. This will go further. We're starting very strongly with D.C., and we're going to clean it up real quick," Trump had told reporters during the White House presser this Monday. "We're going to take back our capital. And then we'll look at other cities also. But other cities are studying what we're doing."


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He reportedly has set his sights on five major US cities after launching a crime crackdown in Washington DC, according to The Sun. The report says that US cities such as Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Baltimore is also on president's radar.

In a firm announcement, Trump said that he was going to "take back the capital" from crime and homelessness by federalizing the district's police force. The president said the city had been "taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals" as well as "drugged out maniacs and homeless people."

"I'm announcing a historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam, and squalor and worse," he told reporters. In his address, Trump named Los Angeles, Baltimore, Oakland, New York, and Chicago as other cities that are in a "very bad" place.

"We're not going to lose our cities over this. This will go further,: he said. "We're starting very strongly with DC, and we're going to clean it up real quick."

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Democrats respond

Angry Democrats have fumed over the president's threats and said they would stop at nothing to hinder the federal assistance. Many cited statistics that showed crime had been falling nationwide in recent years.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, "When it comes to public safety in Baltimore, he should turn off the right-wing propaganda and look at the facts. "Baltimore is the safest it's been in over 50 years. Homicides are down 28% this year alive, reaching the lowest level of any year on record."

Meanwhile, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also blasted the president, saying, "Let's not lie to the public, you and I both know you have no authority to take over Chicago."

Other Democrat leaders merely skirted around the crimes affecting everyday Americans and accused Trump of imposing the measures to distract voters.

Senate House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "For all the talk Republicans give about giving their localities their rights, where are they now?" in an X post.

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The New York politician said that Trump merely wants to shift attention from the controversies surrounding his administration.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, wrote, "the crime scene in DC most damaging to everyday Americans is at 1200 Pennsylvania Ave."

The president and the secretary of defense have the power to deploy federal troops anywhere in the US under Title 32, Time reported.

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Trump previously sent additional manpower to cities in 2020 to help maintain protests over the killing of George Floyd. Earlier this year, he deployed 5,000 National Guard members and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles after protests broke out over his crackdown on illegal immigration.

Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday, Trump voiced his intention to extend the 30-day limit on the federalized police forces with Congressional approval. "We think the Democrats will not do anything to stop crime, but we think the Republicans will do it almost unanimously," he said.

The president said that the bill would focus on Washington DC, but could be an example that he would apply to other cities.