Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson repeatedly skirted a question about whether federal funding for 5,000 more police officers would make his city safer in a Tuesday interview on MSNBC.
Appearing on “Morning Joe” on the cable network President Donald Trump calls “MSDNC” — DNC for Democratic National Committee — Johnson, a progressive Democrat who staunchly defends the city’s sanctuary policies, dodged questions five times about whether more police would help stem crime in Chicago.
“Would you also like to get federal funding to help put 5,000 cops on the streets in Chicago? Would that help drive down crime?” host Joe Scarborough began.
“Policing by itself is not the full strategy,” Johnson said before being cut off by Scarborough.
After a second similar exchange, Scarborough asked a third time: “Do you believe that the streets of Chicago would be safer if there were more uniformed police officers on the streets of Chicago?”
“I believe the city of Chicago and cities across America would be safer if we actually had, you know, affordable housing. Look, I’m not saying —” Johnson began, before Scarborough cut him off again, saying he needed “a simple yes or no” from Johnson.
Johnson called adding more police an “antiquated approach” when pressed a fourth time, as Scarborough pressed him a fifth time.
“We are working hard to make sure our police department is fully supported. I don’t believe that just simply putting out an arbitrary number of officers is the answer. What I’m saying is: it’s policing and affordable housing. It’s policing and mental and behavioral healthcare services. It’s policing and youth employment. It’s a full package,” Johnson said.
“Of course, we want to make sure our police department is fully supported.”
Johnson’s interview comes as the Trump administration is reportedly set to deploy U.S. troops to Chicago next month, a move similar to what Trump has done in Washington.
“Chicago’s a mess,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday, singling out Chicago as his next target after the nation’s capital. “You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That’ll be our next one after this. And it won’t even be tough.”
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