WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he may send federal troops to Louisiana to combat crime, following similar actions in Washington.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the start of a meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, said his administration was determining whether to send troops to Chicago or “a place like New Orleans.”
“We’re going to be going to, maybe Louisiana, and you have New Orleans, which has a crime problem. We’ll straighten that out in about two weeks,“ he said.
Trump also claimed crime in Baltimore was at “levels that nobody’s ever seen before” and that he would consider sending troops into the Maryland city if he is asked to do so.
“If we go into Baltimore, (we can) straighten that out very quickly, too … and I think we’re pretty much waiting until we get asked,“ he said.
Trump has regularly threatened to expand his federal crackdown on Democratic-led U.S. cities, casting the use of presidential power as an urgent effort to tackle crime even as city officials cite declines in homicides, gun violence and burglaries.
On Tuesday he said he would deploy National Guard troops in Chicago but did not say when.
Trump has much less power over Chicago and Baltimore than he does over Washington where, as president, he holds more sway since it is not a U.S. state. – Reuters
