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Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump has rejected criticism over the deployment of the National Guard and the federal takeover of Washington, DC.
“He is a dictator. He is a dictator. A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we like a dictator.’ I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense,” Trump said on Monday.
Trump announced the temporary federal takeover of Washington, DC, earlier this month as part of the administration’s efforts to crack down on crimes in the US capital. It also included a federal takeover of the city’s police department and increased federal law enforcement presence.
Initially, 800 National Guard troops were deployed in DC, but the number has since gone up to 2,000.
On Sunday, the DC National Guard has announced that the National Guard units deployed in Washington, DC have been authorized to carry firearms and some troops have already been observed armed on patrol.
The Guard said on Saturday it had formally authorised members supporting Joint Task Force–DC to carry their service-issued M17 pistols.
Even as criticism mounts over his Washington, DC, takeover, Trump on Monday said he could deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, another Democrat stronghold, next.
Trump said that the military is ready to go anywhere on short notice to crack down on crime.
“We can go anywhere on less than 24 hours notice,” Trump said when asked whether the Pentagon was preparing for a military deployment to Chicago.
Trump said Chicago needs federal help to clean up the city but did not announce a decision.
“They need help. We may wait. We may or may not, we may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do,” Trump told reporters who were in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders aimed at stopping criminal suspects from being released on cashless bail.
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