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() President Donald Trump has suggested he could send the National Guard to New Orleans, the first time he has proposed a deployment to a Republican-led state.
The president made the statement when asked about his plans to deploy troops to Chicago during a news conference Wednesday with Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
“We are making a termination now: Do we go to Chicago, or do we go to New Orleans?” Trump said.
On Tuesday, the president said his administration would be sending National Guard troops to Chicago, but the date had not yet been determined.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker have both objected to the plan, stating the troops are not needed.
On Wednesday, Pritzker said he is “trying like hell” to keep the National Guard from being sent to Chicago, saying that troops had no desire to “be “standing “stand on the street corner in the city of Chicago.”
“They don’t want to invade an American city,” Pritzker said, adding that troops are being ordered to be there and face being court-martialed if they defy orders.
He added: “National Guard are some of the best people you’ll ever meet. They train well, but what they train for is to go to war.”
Trump has repeatedly said he plans to deploy troops to several Democrat-run cities, including Chicago, Baltimore, New York and San Francisco.
Trump said Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry requested his help. The state is also home to Trump ally and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
New Orleans leaders, however, have rejected the idea, which City Council member J.P. Morrell called an “unnecessary show of force.”
The Trump administration filed an appeal Wednesday after a federal judge ruled his use of National Guard troops in Los Angeles was illegal.
Judge Charles Breyer ruled the deployment, which was in response to protests against immigration raids, violated the Posse Comitatus Act. The act prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement without congressional approval.
The Trump administration has argued the deployment was lawful as it protected federal resources.
In Illinois, Pritzker has said he would take Trump to court if he deployed National Guard troops to the state.
‘s Jeff Arnold contributed reporting to this story
