President Donald Trump said he might send National Guard troops to other big U.S. cities after deciding to send 800 troops to Washington, D.C., to help fight crime.
At a news conference on Monday, August 11, Trump named cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Chicago, and Oakland, California as possible next places where he might send troops. This would be a big increase in federal involvement in city crime.
“We’re not going to lose our cities,” Trump said. “We’re starting strong with D.C., and we’re going to clean it up fast.”
Trump signed orders that allow the Defense Secretary to work with state governors to send more National Guard members if needed.
“We’re going to take back our capital,” Trump said. “Then we’ll look at other cities.”
Most of the cities Trump mentioned are led by Democratic mayors and governors. These officials might be less likely to ask for federal help than Republican governors who support Trump.
Trump warned other cities to “learn their lesson” by watching what is happening in Washington. He said he plans to focus on New York City next, and possibly Chicago, if needed.
In one order, Trump took control of Washington’s police department. This is possible because Washington is a federal district, but he can’t do the same in other cities.
The National Guard operation in Washington will be led by Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said they are ready to send more troops if necessary.
Trump talked about recent violent crimes in Washington to explain his decision. However, police data shows violent crime and homicides in Washington and New York have actually gone down this year.
Many mayors disagree with Trump’s approach. The U.S. Conference of Mayors said local police do the best job keeping cities safe.
Baltimore’s mayor said the city is the safest it has been in over 50 years and that homicides have dropped about 28% in 2025. He said the work to keep the city safe needs to be done by local and state officials, not just the federal government.
