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Welcome to The Logoff: Days after deploying Nationwide Guard troops to Chicago towards the needs of native leaders, President Donald Trump is looking for town’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to be jailed.
What occurred? In a Fact Social submit Wednesday, Trump wrote, “Chicago Mayor ought to be in jail for failing to guard Ice Officers! Governor Pritzker additionally!”
What’s the context? Trump has deployed round 500 Nationwide Guard troops — 200 from Texas and 300 extra from Illinois — to the better Chicago space, regardless of opposition from leaders within the metropolis and state. Each Johnson and Pritzker have vocally condemned the transfer, which Pritzker described as an “invasion.”
Why does this matter? The Logoff usually steers away from protecting Trump pronouncements till they translate into real-world impacts, as a result of they typically quantity to false alarms. Trump is definitely suggestible, so he’ll categorical openness to concepts put to him as questions, and he’s extra more likely to say one thing than he’s to observe by means of with it. Nevertheless it’s value underscoring each the absurdity and the seriousness of Trump’s submit.
First, it’s not instantly apparent what federal immigration brokers — who’ve aggressively deployed militarized drive in Chicago, together with Black Hawk helicopters and tear gasoline — want safety from.
And second, whereas threats of jail aren’t something new for Trump — in 2016, he made calls to jail his opponent, Hillary Clinton, a serious function of his rallies — the context is considerably completely different now.
Trump efficiently engineered the indictment of former FBI director James Comey final month, and Rep. LaMonica McIver is at present going through farcical felony expenses for “impeding” regulation enforcement earlier this yr. Prime Trump advisers like Stephen Miller have attacked judges and elected officers standing in the best way of immigration operations in more and more excessive phrases. Trump’s feedback on Wednesday could be the most recent instance of that extremism — however they shouldn’t go unnoticed.
And with that, it’s time to log out…
Don’t miss my colleague Constance Grady’s current examination of considered one of Jane Austen’s less-known and less-loved works, Mansfield Park. The piece is an interesting deep dive into what we find out about Austen’s ideas on slavery, which hardly ever appeared in her writing, and what — if something — we are able to be taught from how the subject does present up in Mansfield Park. Have an excellent night!
