Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Trump's approach “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound."

President plots expansion of crime crackdown as Pentagon chief says troops patrolling DC streets will be armed

Trump has already deployed 800 National Guard troops in Washington DC, declaring a public safety emergency. He is setting his sights now on Chicago.

President Donald Trump said Friday that his next targets for crime crackdowns would be Chicago and New York, using "regular military" in those cities.

Trump’s threat coincided with the announcement that military members in Washington, DC, would be armed during patrols.

"We'll straighten that one out probably next," Trump said of the Windy City.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Trump's approach “uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound."

The Democratic governor of Illinois, which includes Chicago, accused Trump of ‘attempting to manufacture a crisis’.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also accuses Republican US president of pushing to ‘manufacture a crisis’ to abuse power.

"The city of Chicago does not need a military occupation," he said.

Local officials and activists called the potential federal deployment of troops ‘uncoordinated’ and an ‘authoritarian power grab’.