Trump says violence in Chicago is ‘worse than Afghanistan’
President has long used Democratic-run cities as examples of America in decline
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump claimed some of America's largest cities have more extreme levels of violence than troubled nations like Afghanistan and Honduras.
Speaking to Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Thursday, Donald Trump issued a slight to several of America’s largest cities – which are all run by Democrats.
“Chicago’s an example. It’s, like, worse than Afghanistan. It’s worse than – I shouldn’t say it ‘cause they’re working with us – Honduras, Guatemala, they’re all working with us now … we have cities that are worse, in some cases far worse.
“Take a look at Detroit, take a look at what’s happening in Oakland, take a look at what’s happening in Baltimore. And everyone gets upset when I say it, they say ‘oh, is that a racist statement?’ It’s not a racist (sic).
“Frankly, black people come up to me, say ‘thank you, thank you sir for saying it’. They want help. These cities, it’s like living in hell.”
Chicago recently saw 25 people killed and 85 wounded by gunfire in one weekend, including its most violent day in six decades on 31 May. However, the number of murders in the city has in fact declined for three straight years.
Honduras, by contrast, has one of the highest murder rates of any country in the world, while the Afghan capital of Kabul continues to see major terrorist attacks targeting places of worship, public places and even maternity hospitals.
Mr Trump has a history of bemoaning the conditions found in poorer areas of large American cities; in his inaugural address, he infamously described the “American carnage” found across the country, with families and children blighted by urban decay.
Chicago, however, has been a particular target for his disdain since his presidential campaign, when he repeatedly described the city as a “living hell” for minorities.
Not long after his inauguration, he threatened to “send in the feds” to sort out the violence there. But he did not visit Chicago as president until 2019, when he told a national convention of police officers that the city was “embarrassing to us as a nation”.
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