President Donald Trump said Tuesday during a wide-ranging press conference that he’s ready to order federal authorities to mobilize and combat crime in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition from elected leaders and many residents in both cities.

Asked by reporters in the Oval Office about sending National Guard troops to the nation’s third-largest city, Trump said, “We’re going in."

“I have an obligation,” the president said. ”This isn’t a political thing.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker , along with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other local leaders gave an update after Trump spoke, scoffing at the notion of sending military troops and federal agents into Chicago and reiterating that federal intervention was not required or wanted.

Trump has already sent National Guard t

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