We take a look at President Trump’s plan to deploy troops from the National Guard in Chicago, the brand change of his mega expenditure invoice and the last in the redistribution fight.
Ayesha Rascoe, host:
President Trump doubles the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago. Here he speaks to the press at the Oval Office on Tuesday.
(Soundbit of archived registration)
President Donald Trump: There is no place around the world, especially – you can go to Afghanistan. You can go to places you think. They don’t even approach it. Chicago is a Hellhole right now.
Rascoe: And yesterday, referring to his change of brand from the Ministry of Defense, the president posted on Truth Social, Chicago on the point of knowing why this is called the Ministry of War. He also published what looked like an image of Chicago Skyline on fire. We are now joined by the main national political correspondent for the NPR, Mara Liasson. Hello, Mara.
Mara Liasson, byline: Hello.
Rascoe: So you know, President Trump campaigned to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. So what’s going on here with this accent on a war service?
Liasson: Trump considers himself a master brander. You know, it takes place on the Roseraie and calls it Rose Garden Club. He invents biting, denigrating nicknames for his opponents who have sometimes struck the brand. Do you remember Little Marco? And he decided that the department needed a brand change. He therefore gave him a secondary title. Officially reset, it would take an act of congress. He therefore found this name, the Ministry of War. He could turn against him. As you said, he ran as a guy who was going to keep us out of the wars. And that raises the question, does he want to enter a war, or is it just an effort to make the United States more difficult?
And the brand change comes at a time when it was accused by its detractors of being too deferential when faced with difficult adversaries like Russia and China. But now, he talks about triggering a conflict with democrat controlled cities like Chicago and perhaps federating the National Guard there.
Rascoe: OK. So, in Illinois, the Democratic Governor JB Pritzker – he rejected the president’s claims, affirming in an article on Bluesky that Trump is, quotes, a “budding dictator” and adding that the president will war with Chicago. But the president said he was advancing this plan, right?
Liasson: It sounds like that. He spoke of sending troops to cities managed by Democrats for a while. Unlike the District of Columbia, where he sent troops from the National Guard, the district is a federal district, not a state. It is not known whether the courts will allow him to do so in places where governors control their troops of the State National Guard. He has already had a court decision against him about sending troops to Los Angeles for the governor’s objections there.
And part of this, as Trump himself explained, is political. He says that the mid-term elections will concern crime. He wants them to be on the crime. He says that the crime problem is good for the Republicans, and he does not want them to concern Jeffrey Epstein’s or the economy.
Rascoe: Well, I mean, but speaking of the economy, the work numbers that have come out, they don’t seem too good. For example, is there a positive rotation for President Trump here?
Liasson: there could be. Surveys show that the majority of Americans are very unhappy with the economy. They disapprove of its performance on trade, on the economy. His big act of Big Beautiful Bill is very unpopular. But there could be a positive rotation if Trump can lead people to focus on tax reductions in this bill, because this is the only part of the bill that people love.
Now we may have an idea of what part of the public thinks today because he attends the men’s final at the US Open. It has been reported that the broadcasters of the match were invited not to cover with potential demonstrations, but everyone has a camera.
Rascoe: In accordance with the Rebranding theme, you talked about problems with the Big Beautiful Bill. Do they try to rename this now? (Laughs) Is it …
Liasson: Yes, they are certainly. President Trump said the original brand, a great bill, was quoted: “Good for having approved it, but not good to explain to the people of what it is.” So now the Republicans are trying to call it the law on tax reduction of workers’ families.
Rascoe: OK, so things also warm up with this redistribution fight. Texas restarts its card, and California voters will decide if they will do the same. What do you look at there?
Liasson: Well, the Republicans have a clear advantage with regard to redistribution because they control more trifectas, which means that they control more residences and legislatures of states in the same states. It is therefore easier for them to pass new cards. It is also easier for them from Gerrymander – drawing districts that give them a partisan advantage – because democratic voters are ineffective in the cities and along the coasts. But democrats try to do the same. And California voters will vote on redistribution in November.
And that brings us back to the top of our conversation – the National Guard sent to democratic cities. Some Democrats fear that it has more to do with the elections than anything else. Here is Governor JB Pritzker from Illinois, speaking on Friday in Jen Psaki from MSNBC.
(Soundbit of archived registration)
JB Pritzker: Honestly, sending the National Guard has nothing to do with immigration either. That – what he has to do with it is that he tries to prepare the ground for interference in the elections in 2026 and 2028.
Liasson: And that’s what Democrats are worried about.
Rascoe: It’s Mara Liasson de NPR. Thank you, Mara.
Liasson: Thank you.
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