President Donald Trump’s first few months in office have been alarming to say the least. His use of executive orders to carry out what many view as authoritarian commands have left his supporters feeling untouchable, and his critics at best concerned and at worst afraid.
Now, he’s using the National Guard to occupy cities like Los Angeles and Washington D.C., which I view as his most dictatorial move yet.
On June 7, in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detaining and deportation of immigrants without due process, Los Angeles filled with protests and demonstrations against ICE. In response, Trump sent nearly 5,000 members of the National Guard to effectively “take back control” of the city.
Since then, 4,700 have demobilized or begun demobilizing, but a significant amount still remains.
In early August, Trump claimed “crime is running rampant” in Washington D.C. and proceeded to do the same thing. He has since threatened to continue using the National Guard in Chicago, again due to the crime rate.
While Trump backed down from this threat after pushback from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago citizens, his actions still show a dictatorial temperament.
The veil of “taking control of our most crime-rampant cities” is thin and see-through. Chicago and Los Angeles are two of the most liberal cities in the nation. Every election season, the people of Chicago almost single-handedly turn Illinois blue.
Trump’s intended use of the National Guard is a power move. Pritzker rejected Trump’s occupation, and while admittedly Chicago has a very real crime problem, the crime rate has dropped during the first half of 2025.
Trump’s use of the National Guard in this manner has already been slapped with the “illegal” label by San Francisco Federal Judge, Charles Breyer. The disregard for our legal system is, in short, expected from the felon, however it remains worrisome.
Scot Schraufnagel, a political science professor at NIU, also emphasized the economic impact occupations like this have had on L.A. and D.C.
“I don’t speculate, but we know from the experience in L.A. and D.C that there was considerable disruption to local businesses because people wouldn’t go out,” Schraufnagel said.
Overall, this is not the first action from the president that has raised eyebrows from political experts. His use of ICE, endorsement of the infamous “Alligator Alcatraz” prison for “illegal” immigrants and outright threats and vulgarity toward political opponents, already shows his leanings toward authoritarianism.
His use of the National Guard is only the latest in a long list, including firing government officials who oppose him and cracking down on free speech and critics in the media. As Schraufnagel puts it, it’s almost textbook authoritarianism.
“It’s almost as though somebody is behind his ear reading all of the classic moves used historically to consolidate power,” Schraufnagel said.
Thankfully, Trump didn’t go through with occupying Chicago, but that is irrelevant. The fact he even considered doing so is, or should be, a red flag for us all, and as citizens of Illinois, we should be extremely alarmed.
