‘They’re All Dead!’: Watters Slams ‘White Dudes For Harris’ Guest After He Says National Guard’s Not Needed In Chicago

Fox News’ Jesse Watters halted former Vice President Kamala Harris’ Senior Adviser Mike Nellis on Tuesday after he claimed that the National Guard would not be needed in Chicago to halt crime.

While speaking with the press on Friday, President Donald Trump said he was considering sending National Guard troops to Chicago after deploying them in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 11. With Democrats increasingly pushing back on the National Guard being sent to address crime, Watters asked Nellis on “Jesse Watters Primetime” if he believes Chicago should be open to help from the White House. (RELATED: Watch As Chicago Resident Refuses To Co-Sign Dems’ Preferred Narrative On Crime)

“No, look, I think Chicago needs to do a better job of dealing with crime. Our local leaders need to do a better job of dealing with crime, but the city of Chicago has had a chance to vote for Donald Trump three times, and he lost by 80% each of the three times that he was on the ballot. I think if Donald Trump wants to get involved heavily in issues somewhere else, he should go look at red states, because Donald Trump doesn’t have any urgency to deal with Louisiana, which is the murder capital of the United States. He doesn’t have anything to say about Oklahoma, which has the worst schools in the nation. Doesn’t have anything to say about Arkansas, which has the highest teen pregnancy rate — ” Nellis said before Watters jumped in.

“Those are crime ridden too! And if the mayor wants to invite Donald Trump to go in there and do it,” Watters said. “Chicago’s a little bigger than Baton Rouge, Mike, OK? You live in Chicago, and you should care. Did you hear my friend out there in the monologue talking about her cousin, her uncle, her niece. They’re all dead, Mike! Do you care about that at all? Your mayor doesn’t care. Your mayor doesn’t want any backup. They’re offering them more cops, more guards. And he says, ‘No, more housing.’ What the hell’s wrong with him?”

Democrat Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Democrat Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson held a press conference Monday telling the president to not come, with Johnson touting what he said were lowered crime statistics.

Chicago Police Department data through Aug. 16 reportedly shows homicides in the city trending down 25% over the last 12 months compared to 2023. The frequency of killings remains higher than it was before the pandemic, according to ABC7 Chicago. Data from the outlet reports that in the last 12 months through Aug. 16, there have been 474 homicides, with an average yearly homicide rate of 722 between 2021 and 2023.

WATCH:

According to a White House press release, the city has had the highest “murder rate among U.S. cities with more than one million people” for seven consecutive years, with Chicago also labeled as having the “most murders of any U.S. city” for 13 consecutive years.

Nellis pushed back against Watters.

“I know I’m not going to feel safe when I take him to a ball game. I’m going to see armed military members. There’s a way to do this,” Nellis said. “I’m happy to support having more police on the streets of Chicago to help keep us safe. The problem is in Donald Trump’s budget that he signed by the Republicans, he cut community police funding by $2 billion, which means there’ll be fewer police on the streets.”

Watters hit back,

“All right, Mike, you guys defunded the police. So don’t talk about cutting funding, OK? Everybody knows the Democrats defunded. They defunded all over the country, Mike,’ Watters said. “I don’t have time to debate that. But I respect that you are from Chicago, and you want to be safe. But we are all in agreement that Chicago needs to do a lot better. You and I will agree on that.”

Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard and invoke Section 40 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act followed after a slew of crimes in Washington, D.C. drew national attention. Among some were the brutal attack against a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer and the fatal June 30 shooting of Republican intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym.

Democrats and legacy media pundits have said Washington, D.C.’s crime dropped 35% in 2024, citing local police data. The statistics left out crimes such as felony and aggravated assault. In July, the Metropolitan Police Department said an investigation was opened against D.C. police Commander Michael Pulliam for allegedly altering crime statistics in his district, according to NBC Washington.

Despite the pushback from Democrats, a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released Monday reported that 54% of registered voters said Trump’s crime-fighting efforts in the nation’s capital are “justified and necessary.” According to U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro on Monday, the federal takeover in the nation’s capital has led to 1,007 arrests and 111 illegal firearm confiscations.

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