"Insurrectionists": Trump blasts Democrats over shutdown, immigration
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President Trump in the Oval Office on Oct. 7. Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump called Democrats "insurrectionists" Tuesday and slammed the left for what he described as "kamikaze" attacks on America, invoking increasingly warlike rhetoric to describe the opposition party.
Why it matters: The president has repeatedly floated the idea of invoking the rarely used Insurrection Act to send federal troops to blue cities like Chicago and Portland without local approval.
What they're saying: "These Democrats are like insurrectionists, their policy is so bad for our country," the president said in the Oval Office Tuesday, specifically targeting Democrats on immigration and crime prevention.
- "Chicago is a great city where there's a lot of crime, and if the governor can't do the job, we'll do the job," he added when asked by reporters about invoking the Insurrection Act.
- The offices of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
- However, Pritzker insists that there is "no need for military troops on the ground in the State of Illinois," and called the president's efforts a "manufactured performance."
Driving the news: Illinois on Monday sued to stop the administration from deploying the National Guard to the state, one day after a federal judge blocked Trump from sending troops into Portland for a second time.
- After being blocked by courts, Trump has toyed with the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act, as Axios' Avery Lotz previously reported.
- The law gives the president the ability to deploy the military on U.S. soil, and is the major exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits federal troops from operating as local law enforcement.
- The insurrection act is extremely broad, giving the president full discretion to determine whether an insurrection or rebellion has occurred, although states could still sue the administration if they believe the president's actions are illegal.
Zoom out: Trump also accused Democrats of "kamikaze" attacks on the United States as the government shutdown drags on.
- "They're the ones that started it. ... It's almost like a kamikaze attack by them. They have nothing to lose," he said.
- However, recent polls show voters assign more of the blame for the shutdown to Trump and Republicans.
Go deeper: MAGA calls for Trump to overrule judges on National Guard deployments
