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"If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help," Trump said
Chicago's mayor outlined how he'd like the feds to help in an interview
President Donald Trump, for the first time since taking office, has tweeted about violence in Chicago, saying: “I will send in the Feds” if they don’t fix the “horrible ‘carnage’” going on.
He tweeted about the shootings there in early January, saying at the time as President-elect: “If Mayor can’t do it he must ask for Federal help.”
Tuesday night he wrote, “If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds.”
The Chicago Police Department tells CNN there have been 38 homicides and 182 shooting incidents in the city so far in 2017. Chicago Police only report homicides. They are not necessarily all shooting deaths.
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Trump has previously encouraged Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to ask for federal assistance.
Asked about Trump’s statement following a Chicago city council meeting Wednesday, Emanuel said he “welcomed” the idea of greater federal assistance to address crime in the city. He said federal authorities already play an integral role in fighting crime in the city, referencing the transport of guns across state lines, among other areas.
“A lot of the guns, you know, coming into Chicago come from out of state,” Emanuel said. “Federal entities are set up to deal with that. And they do. And they work with us. “
Mentioning past meetings with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, Emanuel said he has “been very clear about what we need to do.”
Previously, Emanuel has specified areas he’d like the federal government’s help – including gun control, gun tracking, prosecution for gun crimes and help increase funding for more police officers.
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Trump voiced strong support for the Second Amendment on the campaign trail, so it’s not clear if that’s the type of tactic his administration would favor – though his campaign stated he was in favor of enforcing gun laws on the books and stringent sentencing for armed felons.
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Often on the campaign trail, Trump would mention Chicago while suggesting that controversial and possibly unconstitutional tactics such as stop-and-frisk could help address the issue.
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“A policy like stop-and-frisk could save thousands of lives in a city like Chicago, just like it saved thousands of lives in New York. Overwhelmingly, this will save African-American and Hispanic lives – citizens who are entitled to the same protections as every American,” Trump said during a September rally in Florida.
CNN’s Daniella Diaz, Keith Allen, Eleanor Mueller and Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.