A Chicago alderman suggested Democrats are “too afraid” to ask President Trump for help to address rampant violent crime.
Alderman Anthony Napolitano, a former police officer, joined Fox & Friends Monday morning and said the city is desperate for assistance after Chicago officials reported at least 63 shootings and 12 deaths over the weekend.
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“People are too afraid right now to ask the president for help because if it does work, they’re going to make the president look like a success. And it’s a political move,” Napolitano said.
“We are dealing with crime at biblical proportions right now in Chicago,” he added.
Chicago police have reported a spike in murders and shootings this year compared to 2019. Shootings increased by 71% in May compared to the year before, when 409 people were shot. Murders were up 60%, with 85 reported.
“We’re putting our men and women, our police officers out there, there is a justice movement going on right now where we had a statue in Grant Park — they tried to tear it down. We had 30 officers protecting against about 1,000 protesters. It looked like a scene out of 300,” Napolitano said. “We need help.”
The president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police posted a letter to Trump over the weekend asking for help and slamming Chicago leadership, including Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “Mayor Lightfoot has proved to be a complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order here,” John Catanzara said in the letter, posted to the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7’s Facebook page.
“I would be willing to sit down anytime and discuss ideas about how we can bring civility back to the streets of Chicago,” the letter continued. “These politicians are failing the good men and women of this city and the police department.”
Trump has repeatedly denounced the crime in Chicago and in other cities reporting similar crime, saying last week that it’s “worse than Afghanistan.”
“When you have 88 shootings, that’s not even conceivable, that’s worse than Afghanistan. I hate to say it. That’s worse than any war zone that we’re in by a lot,” Trump said.
Lightfoot has repeatedly blamed the murders and gun violence in her city over the past year on loose federal gun laws, suggesting residents are going to nearby red states to buy illegal firearms and coming back and committing crimes in the city.
