Trump Claims ‘4,000 People Murdered’ in Chicago ‘Over A Very Short Period of Time’

President Donald Trump claimed that there were “4,000 people murdered” in Chicago over “a very short period of time” during a Friday appearance in front of reporters in the Oval Office.

Responding to a question about his feelings on Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) “making targeted arrests at courthouses in New York City and across the country,” Trump interjected to say, “Criminals. They’re arresting criminals,” before making the case for sending federal agents to Chicago.

“We want to save Chicago,” said Trump. “They had 4,000 people murdered over a very short period of time.” Notably, city data indicates that Chicago’s murder rate has dropped sharply over the past few years — nearly 50% lower than it was in 2021. As of 2025, the city has recorded 331 homicides, compared to 460 at this time last year.

Trump went on to compare Chicago to Mexico City and “anywhere in Afghanistan,” and called Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) a “slob” and “incompetent,” saying he was “thrown out of his family business like a dog.”

On Thursday, a federal judge temporarily halted the deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois, blocking the Trump administration’s plan to send forces from Texas and other states into the region. The ruling came just hours after Texas National Guard members were spotted entering an ICE facility near Chicago. On Friday, Judge April Perry issued another written order clarifying that Trump’s actions “likely violate the Tenth Amendment.”

Meanwhile, ICE continues to escalate its operations in the Chicago area under “Operation Midway Blitz,” leading to mass arrests — over 1,000 since September. In a news conference on Monday, Pritzker was blunt in his criticism of Trump’s sweeping federal actions, saying that he’s “using our service members as political props and pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.