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New Orleans Democrats pushed back on President Donald Trump’s suggestion to send National Guard troops to the Louisiana city to help fight crime, with one accusing him of “scare tactics and politicizing public safety.”
The outcry came after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday “we’re making a determination now” as to where National Guard resources will be deployed next.
“Do we go to Chicago, or do we go to a place like New Orleans, where we have a great governor, Jeff Landry, who wants us to come in and straighten out a very nice section of this country that’s become quite, you know, quite tough, quite bad,” Trump asked. “So we’re going to be going to, maybe Louisiana, and you have New Orleans, which has a crime problem. We will straighten that out in about two weeks. It’ll take us two weeks. Easier than D.C.”
Landry, a Republican, appeared to embrace Trump’s offer, writing on X in response: “We will take President Donald Trump’s help from New Orleans to Shreveport!”
Police and military personnel are seen in and around the French Quarter a day prior to Super Bowl LIX in February 2025 in New Orleans, La. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat whose district includes New Orleans, called Trump’s comments a “political stunt.”
“Militarizing the streets of New Orleans is not a solution. Period,” he said in a statement. “If the President wants to provide federal resources to the City, I’ll work with him to provide funding to recruit and better train police officers, better fund our district attorney, fix the infrastructure at Orleans Parish Prison and fund the very programs he has cut that get at the root cause of crime: systemic poverty.”
The City of New Orleans and the New Orleans Police Department also released a joint statement Wednesday saying, “We have consistently worked with our federal partners, including collaborations with the Louisiana State Police.”
“This collaborative approach has been instrumental in our ongoing success in reducing crime,” the statement read. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the women and men of the NOPD, the strategic use of advanced technology, and a steadfast commitment to constitutional policing, strong public safety partnerships have also played a critical role in driving and sustaining this downward trend in crime.”
A New Orleans police vehicle blocks the entrance to Bourbon Street, near the site where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year’s celebrations, in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 2, 2025. (Reuters/Octavio Jones)
“Our federal and state partnerships have played a significant role in ensuring public safety, particularly during special events for a world-class city,” the statement added. “The City of New Orleans and NOPD remain committed to sustaining this momentum, ensuring that every neighborhood continues to feel the impact of these combined efforts.”
