US President Donald Trump pushed back against critics who accused him of acting like a dictator after his administration temporarily seized control of Washington, D.C.’s police force and deployed National Guard troops with weapons on patrol.
“They say: ‘We don’t need him. Freedom, freedom, he’s a dictator,’” Trump said during a White House event on Monday. “I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and a smart person.”
“A lot of people are saying maybe we’d like a dictator I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and I’m a smart person”
— Donald Trump to reporters today.
pic.twitter.com/928P9s8NMp— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 25, 2025
Trump argued the extraordinary measures were necessary to curb what he described as a surge of violent crime in the nation’s capital. He also suggested the Guard could be sent to other cities, specifically pointing to Chicago. “A lot of people are saying maybe we like a dictator,” Trump added. “I don’t like a dictator.” Trump said he was considering whether to send in the military to the cities of Chicago and Baltimore as he targets a series of Democratic strongholds. He sent the National Guard to Los Angeles — against the mayor’s and governor’s wishes — in June.
“When I see what’s happening to our cities, and then you send them, and instead of being praised, they’re saying, ‘you’re trying to take over the Republic,'” said Trump. “These people are sick,” Trump said.
The administration’s move has triggered sharp criticism from Democrats, who accused Trump of manufacturing a crisis to expand federal control and target Democratic-run cities.
“Trump is trying to militarise our cities — all to distract from his sinking poll numbers. It’s what dictators do,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) wrote on X.
Chicago. Washington, DC. Los Angeles. Trump is trying to militarize our cities—all to distract from his sinking poll numbers. It’s what dictators do. No one should be silent in the face of this administration’s authoritarian actions. pic.twitter.com/6hcK0mqxMI— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) August 24, 2025
California Gov. Gavin Newsom went further, warning that “Trump’s militarisation of Los Angeles seems to have been just the start of an authoritarian takeover of American cities.”
Trump on Monday directed the Defence Department to make sure every state has National Guard units ready to mobilise quickly in response to civil unrest or threats to public safety. His order also called for a standing “quick reaction force” that could be deployed nationwide.
The Guard already maintains such a force, known as the NGRF, which can send 75 to 125 personnel within eight hours, followed by as many as 375 additional troops within 24 hours.
– Ends
With inputs from agencies
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