Donald Trump Says He’s Willing to Send ‘More Than the National Guard’ into U.S. Cities

During his tour of Asia, former President Donald Trump suggested he might expand the domestic use of the U.S. military.

While addressing troops aboard the USS George Washington in Yokohama, Japan, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, Trump, 79, spoke extensively about deploying the National Guard to cities like Washington, D.C., and Chicago, according to reports from multiple outlets, including NBC News and The New York Times.

Trump described these actions as efforts to “straighten out our cities,” calling D.C. “a killing mess” with “people getting killed all the time,” as reported by Reuters.

“We sent in our National Guard,” he said. “I don’t say they were totally politically correct. That’s okay. And now it’s very safe,” he added.

As his remarks continued, Trump hinted that he was ready to go further, saying he would send in “more than the National Guard” if necessary.

“We have cities that are troubled. We can’t have cities that are troubled, and we’re sending in our National Guard. And if we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard because we’re going to have safe cities,” he said, according to multiple reports. “We’re not going to have people killed in our cities. And whether people like that or not, that’s what we’re doing.”

Trump acknowledged that his decisions haven’t been universally popular but suggested that many Americans support the measures.

“You know, people don’t care if we send in our military, if we send in our National Guard, if we send in Space Command — they don’t care who the hell it is. They just want to be safe. And we have safe cities now,” he said.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump reiterated that while further escalation “hasn’t been necessary,” he believed he had the authority to expand military involvement if needed.

“If I want to enact a certain act, I’m allowed to do it routinely. I’d be allowed to do whatever I want,” Trump said. “The courts wouldn’t get involved, nobody would get involved. I can send the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. I can send anybody I wanted.”

Trump appeared to be referencing the Insurrection Act, which grants the president authority to deploy the U.S. military domestically under certain circumstances, according to PBS. The outlet noted that Trump has claimed he is “allowed” to invoke the act despite facing pushback from government agencies during prior deployments.

In August, Trump announced plans to take over D.C. police operations and send in the National Guard, citing high crime rates. However, local data at the time showed that violent crime had already dropped 26% between 2025 and 2024.

Even some Republicans have voiced opposition to Trump’s approach. Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly criticized the president’s moves during her SiriusXM show, arguing they were unconstitutional.

“It very clearly is not constitutionally permissible,” Kelly said. “He cannot do it. We can’t have Trump going in without the invitation of this governor. I’m sorry, but we can’t have it. He does not have the constitutional permission to do it.”