Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday defended a series of insulting text messages sent to the president of the city’s police union after he asked President Trump for help in tackling the city’s wave of violent crime.
In messages to Fraternal Police Order President John Catanzara, Lightfoot called him a “cartoon character” and a “clown” who is “desperate for relevance.” The exchange was obtained by WGN-TV.
The comments came after Catanzara asked Trump for help in a July 18 letter to combat the Chicago violent crime epidemic, calling Lightfoot a “total failure.”
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At a press conference, the mayor refused to back down his comments.
“In the midst of all that is happening, in a cowardly political movement, this man waved to President Trump and invited him to bring federal troops to our city, to Portland,” Lightfoot told reporters during a press conference. . “We have tried to engage him in a constructive way. He refuses to do so because he is more interested in trying to become a political figure rather than a leader.”
“I don’t take a word off what I said,” he added.
In his letter, Catanzara did not specifically request that federal forces be deployed to the city, but said he was willing to meet with Trump to discuss how to “return civility to the streets of Chicago.”
Calls to Catanzara’s office from Fox News were not immediately answered.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that he would send federal agents to Chicago to help combat the rise in violent crime. The move came a day after 15 people were shot outside a funeral home and a 3-year-old boy was shot in the head.
Lightfoot said he spoke to Trump on the phone after the announcement.
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“The conversation was brief and direct,” his office said in a statement. “Mayor Lightfoot maintains that all resources will be investigative in nature and will be coordinated through the United States Attorney’s Office. The mayor has made it clear that if there is any deviation from what has been announced, we will seek all options. laws available to protect Chicagoans. “
Several progressive mayors have rejected the presence of federal forces in their cities. In Portland, Oregon, militarized-looking officers have been accused of hiding their labels and markings that denote what agency they are with and arrest protesters and take them away in unmarked vehicles.
