President Donald Trump has claimed that “African-American ladies.. beautiful ladies” are pleading with him to extend federal troop deployments to Chicago after the militarized takeover of Washington D.C.’s streets this month.
“They are wearing red hats, just like this one. But they are wearing red hats. African American ladies, beautiful ladies are saying, Please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please,” he claimed Friday in the Oval Office.
“I did great with the Black vote, as you know. And they want something to happen. So I think Chicago will be our next, and then we will help with New York.”
Now, a Black personal trainer and conservative influencer in Chicago has told local news outlets that she believes that the president was referring to her and the MAGA organization she co-founded, in his remarks.
“We knew he had been listening to us,” Danielle Carter-Walters told the Chicago Sun-Times Sunday. “When I saw it, I said, ‘Oh wow.’ We’ve been asking for it in our videos. Now he’s doing it.”
Danielle Carter-Walters says she believes Trump was talking about her and her political action group when he said Friday that ‘African American ladies, beautiful ladies are saying, ‘Please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please.’ (House Committee on the Judiciary | YouTube)
Carter-Walters also defended Trump’s crackdown in D.C. “I mean, if you’ve got the National Guard right there, are you going to rob somebody right there in front of the National Guard? No, you’re not,” she told CBS Chicago.
The conservative influencer is co-founder of Chicago Flips Red, a small grass roots organization which appears to comprise of around half a dozen core members.
However Carter-Walters has had national exposure. In April, she testified before Congress during a hearing on sanctuary cities.
Trump doesn’t appear to have acknowledged Carter-Walters by name before.
“Thank you @realDonaldTrump for listening to @FlipChicagoRed. We truly appreciate everything you’re doing to Make America Great Again. P.S.-Please send in the Feds too!” Carter-Walters posted on X after Trump’s remarks.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Trump made the remarks about Chicago as he discussed reaction to his deployment of National Guard troops and federal agents in the capital. The president has declared the operation a success, though the largest spike in D.C. arrests has been for immigration-related violations.
The Pentagon is reportedly planning to deploy military personnel into Chicago as soon as September. Trump has insisted that he has the authority to conduct “takeovers” of American cities across states — beyond the special jurisdiction of the District of Columbia.
The Pentagon has been making plans to occupy numerous cities, even as Guard troops in D.C. have largely resorted to milling around and taking selfies with tourists, according to the Washington Post.
Trump made the remarks about Chicago as he discussed reaction to his deployment of National Guard troops and federal agents in the capital. The president has declared the operation a success, though the largest spike in D.C. arrests has been for immigration-related violations. (AP)
After making his threats against Chicago on Friday, Trump spent some of the weekend leveling attacks at Lisa Cook, the only Black member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, as well as the only current Black governor of a state, Wes Moore of Maryland. On Sunday, he rejected an invitation from Moore to visit Baltimore in person.
Trump’s ire has been particularly focused on cities in liberal jurisdictions with Black mayors, like Chicago, Baltimore and Washington D.C. Trump’s threats to takeover Chicago were met with robust responses from Illinois’ governor, JB Pritzker, and prominent Black leaders in the Windy City.
“Illinois has long worked with federal law enforcement to tackle crime, but we won’t let a dictator impose his will,” Pritzker posted on X late Saturday.
“If Trump wants to take his ego trip on tour, he picked the wrong city. Chicago doesn’t bow down to kings or roll out the red carpet for dictators. As a Black woman from the South Side, I can assure you @realdonaldtrump, your political circus isn’t welcome here,” tweeted Julianna Stratton, the state’s lieutenant governor.
Chicago’s mayor Brandon Scott also responded in an interview Sunday on MSNBC. “We’re not gonna surrender our humanity to this tyrant,” he said. “The city of Chicago has a long history of standing up against tyranny– resisting those who wishes to undermine the interest of working people. We’re not gonna back down. We’re not gonna cower. We’re not gonna bend. We’re not gonna break. We’re Chicago.”
Trump announced last week he had placed D.C. police under direct federal control and deployed about 800 National Guard troops to the city (Getty)
“This is what weak men do to pretend they’re strong,” added Kat Abugazelah, a Democratic congressional candidate in Illinois.
Trump can’t actually deploy National Guard troops with law enforcement powers to any U.S. state without the consent of the state’s governor.
His deployment of the Guard was not restricted in D.C. because the detachment is directly under the president’s authority. Federal law only allows the president to federalize state detachments under specific circumstances, and with different authorities depending on the situation.
Washington D.C. residents are in near-unison with their opposition to the Trump takeover of the nation’s capital. A Washington Post/Schar School survey this week found that roughly 8 in 10 residents oppose the deployment of Guard troops and federal agents across the city.
Since the military have hit the streets, one person was hospitalized after an armored guard vehicle ran a red light and struck a civilian vehicle. Numerous small-scale clashes between residents and agents carrying out arrests, patrols and checkpoints are frequently being reported in neighborhoods.
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