President Donald Trump used the Thanksgiving turkey pardon moment to blast rising violence in Chicago, spotlight a horrific subway attack and demand a federal response, arguing that career criminals and permissive local policies are failing residents and that a National Guard deployment would quickly restore order.
At the White House, Trump called out what he described as the city’s unraveling public safety, tying a recent, brutal attack on a commuter to a broader pattern of repeat offenders being released back onto the streets. He urged Illinois leaders to accept federal help and warned that hesitation risks losing a world-class city to chaos and fear. The tone was sharp and unapologetic, aimed squarely at local officials and judges.
The case that drove his comments involved 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, who was reportedly set on fire on a Chicago train last week by a suspect with a long criminal history. Authorities say the accused, 50-year-old Lawrence Reed, had dozens of prior arrests and had been free despite prosecutors seeking confinement. For many conservatives, that sequence is a clear example of laws and policies that fail public safety.
Trump did not mince words. “This is a very serious thing,” Trump said. “They burned this beautiful woman riding in a train. A man was arrested 72 times. 72 times. Think of that. And they’ll let him out again, the liberal judges will let him out again.”
He pointed to prior deployments of troops in cities like Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Memphis as proof that a federal presence can push back on violence. Those moves, he argued, produced measurable drops in crime and gave overwhelmed local forces a hand in restoring control. From his perspective, Chicago needs the same straightforward action now, not debate over jurisdiction and politics.
Illinois leaders have resisted, calling troop deployments unconstitutional and insisting the city is not in the crisis the White House describes. Mr. Trump pressed the point, saying “But we’re ready to go,” Trump said Tuesday. “You know, we’ve been moving toward Chicago. We have a governor that thinks it’s wonderful that only like seven people were killed this week… It’s horrible what’s happening in Chicago.”
The president also insisted a federal effort could bring quick results and criticized local officials bluntly. “And the people of Chicago want us to go there. And if you look at the crime that’s taking place in Chicago in the last two weeks, just take a look. It’s on the front page of every newspaper,” Trump said. “It’s out of control. The mayor is incompetent, and the governor is a big fat slob. He ought to invite us in and say, ‘please make Chicago safe.’”
Critics of the state’s progressive criminal-justice approach zeroed in on court decisions that kept Reed under electronic monitoring instead of behind bars, despite alleged violations. Records show he repeatedly violated curfew and movement restrictions in the days before the November 17 transit attack, and prosecutors had asked a judge to hold him on felony allegations unrelated to the train incident. At that hearing, the judge said, “I can’t keep everybody in jail because the State’s Attorney wants me to.”
The White House summed up its stance on social media with sharp language aimed at local policy choices. “Liberal soft-on-crime policies are FAILING American communities and endangering law-abiding citizens,” the White House wrote on X. “A career criminal with 72 arrests should have never been free to roam the streets. Pray for Bethany.”
As the debate heats up, Trump returned to the urgency of immediate intervention and warned of long-term loss if action is delayed. “We’re going to lose a great city if we don’t do it quickly,” Trump added. The clash between calls for federal assistance and local resistance is now front and center, with residents watching to see whether politics or public safety will steer the next move.
