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Trump Signs Order Expanding Use of National Guard in U.S. Cities; Judge Blocks Trump Admin From Deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 26, 2025 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[09:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Kate and Sara are out. I'm John Berman with Danny Freeman.

This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, the clash over Chicago. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker telling President Trump, quote, "do not come here." After the president suggested Chicago could be the next American city to see National Guard troops patrolling its streets.

And now the president has signed an executive order that could greatly expand the deploying of troops on U.S. soil. That order directs the Pentagon to create specialized rapid response units equipped to deal with, quote, "public order issues." The president has already sent National Guard troops into Washington, D.C., some of them are now carrying weapons on patrol.

And officials have told CNN that the Trump administration has been planning for weeks to send the National Guard to Chicago.

Now, while violent crime certainly exists in Chicago, police stats show a 23% drop from this time last year. And the idea that the president might send troops in over his wishes led Governor Pritzker to issue this blunt warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now from the White House. The president really does seem like he's gearing up to send National Guard troops into Chicago, whether the governor likes it or not.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Oh, absolutely. And he said that now, Danny, pretty publicly, that if he was to move in and try to send some of National Guard troops, but also a surge of federal law enforcement officials to Chicago, it would likely be without the governor's approval. And, of course, this is just another example of the president testing the bounds of his executive authority.

And I know from my conversations with people here at the White House that these are waters that he's willing to test. I mean, he believes that this is a subject that the American people believe in. He's obviously tried to paint himself repeatedly, both on the campaign trail, but now in office as a law-and-order president.

He believes that this issue is one that he is winning on. I know when I talk to my sources here at the White House, they say that he's reveling in these images of National Guard troops and federal agents in the streets of Washington, D.C., and that he's likely to try and ramp this up further by sending them out to other cities.

But he's also found a political foe now in the Illinois governor, J.B. Pritzker. Just as much as the president sees this as good politics for himself, the governor also is using this as a potential political point to really have this standoff with the president. And I note that Pritzker, of course, is also a 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful.

But I want you to listen to what both of them have said now about the other, kind of trading barbs to criticize their opponent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: I have some slob like Pritzker criticizing us before we even go there. I made the statement that next should be Chicago because as you all know, Chicago is a killing field.

PRITZKER: Your remarks about this effort over the last several weeks have betrayed a continuing slip in your mental faculties and are not fit for the auspicious office that you occupy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Danny, as you could hear there, I mean, they are leaning in heavily to this rhetoric. But it's one fight that is likely to only escalate further as we see the president kind of make plans. And we've reported that the Trump administration has been making plans to send federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to Pritzker City.

FREEMAN: Alayna, just before you go, can you tell us a little bit more about what we know about the executive order establishing this specialized unit of the National Guard?

TREENE: Yeah, I mean, I look at that as the clear sign yet, Danny, that the president is very serious about wanting to use what he is doing in Washington, D.C., as a model for other cities and not just Chicago. He has mentioned, you know, potentially wanting to do something similar with Los Angeles, with New York, with Oakland. I mean, tons of cities that he believes are -- what he calls a disaster due to crime.

I'd also note that, of course, the cities I've mentioned in the ones that he has laid out have been largely Democratic ones. And he was asked about that actually yesterday in the Oval Office, pressed on whether, you know, he would be willing to send National Guard troops to cities in red states. He said, I would, but he doesn't think that they needed as much as these Democratic cities.

But as you mentioned, I mean, this order creates, quote, "specialized units in the National Guard to quell civil unrest." Again, I think the clear sign yet that the president is only going to be ramping up these efforts and trying to bring them beyond D.C. rather than rein it in after kind of what he's seen as a test case for this type of operation.

FREEMAN: Alayna Treene from the White House, thank you so much, as always. Appreciate it.

John?

[09:05:00]

BERMAN: New this morning, a Republican-led congressional committee is investigating whether Washington, D.C. police manipulated crime data to make rates appear lower. Officials in Washington and the Trump administration have very different ideas about the state of crime there and whether it justifies this federal crackdown. Let's get to seeing as Brian Todd in Washington, who's covered so much on this for us. What are you learning this morning, Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, John, this is another escalation in this continuing political battle between the Trump administration and the Washington, D.C. government over crime in this city. This is the second investigation announced into alleged manipulation of D.C. crime stats. You'll recall the first one was last week when the Justice Department announced its own investigation into whether crime statistics in the district were manipulated or not.

This time, it is the Republican-led House Oversight Committee announcing its own investigation. Now, in a letter yesterday to D.C. Police Commissioner Pamela Smith from the House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, the committee asked for these things. Quote, "all crime reports, audit trail and memoranda for crimes whose classification has been changed."

Also, "all communications among or between MPD leadership and any other officials regarding efforts to reclassify or amend crime reports. All communications related to weekly district commander meetings, including but not limited to calendar invites and meeting minutes."

Now, in addition to that, the committee is also asking for Chief Smith to make all seven police district commanders in the city available for interviews by the House Oversight Committee on several dates between September 23rd and October 20th.

All of these investigations, these two investigations we're talking about, this House one just announced and the DOJ one announced last week. They all come after reports that a now former D.C. police commander was placed on administrative leave for amid allegations that the department was manipulating crime data in one district of the city. Allegedly marking offenses as lower-level crimes than they might have been.

Now, we should say that D.C. officials have stressed that this is one former police commander being investigated in regarding activity in one district of the city. They say the investigation is ongoing. The D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in recent days was asked about the implication of data, crime data in the city being widely manipulated. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D-WA): We know that crime has gone down in our city and it has gone down precipitously over the last two years because of a lot of hard work. Changes to our public safety ecosystem, including changes to the law. And we know that those facts don't comport to what some people are saying. But those are the facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And the D.C. Police Department keeps putting out overall crime statistics which indicate a drop in crime over the past year. Here are the latest. Violent crime according to the Metropolitan D.C. Police down 26% compared to this time a year ago. Assault with a dangerous weapon down 20% for the same period. And robbery down 29%. So, again, John, a push and pull between the Trump administration and now Republicans in Congress and the D.C. government over crime in the city doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon.

BERMAN: No, the statistics just do not align with the messaging you are hearing from the administration. Brian Todd in Washington for us this morning. Thank you very much.

Danny.

FREEMAN: All night, joining me now are CNN Political Commentators Paul Begala and S.E. Cupp to talk through all of this crime back and forth and the fight between D.C. and Chicago.

Let's start here, Paul, with you. Governor Pritzker said loud and clear to the president yesterday, stay out of Chicago. But can Pritzker or frankly any Democrats in other cities that might be targeted here, can they do anything to stop the president from sending the National Guard in?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's unlikely. The president has the authority. It's just we've never seen anybody abuse it like this. And this is what I think Alayna's reporting is right. He's trying to push the envelope as far as he can.

You know, on Friday night, Bill Maher called this a slow-moving coup in the way sometimes comedians can see things more clearly than journalists, frankly.

I -- I would quibble with Bill. It's not slow moving. We're only day 217, 217 days into this presidency. And look what he's doing. He's occupying the national capital with armed troops. He -- on the military front. He's fired 11 top admirals and generals and replaced them. He fired the top judge, advocate generals, the top lawyers at the Pentagon and his defense secretary saying the quiet part out loud said we don't want them to -- to be a roadblock to anything.

Look what he's doing to the press. He's suing. He's threatening. He has used his powers over mergers to -- to -- to gain advantage. He's intimidating. Look what he's doing in the justice system. The FBI is raiding the home of one of his chief critics. We see him intimidating judges that he doesn't like. Look what he's doing on the economy, taking a huge stake in private corporations like Intel. That's called socialism.

[09:10:17]

Demanding 15% of all the sales that Nvidia and AMD have to China with their chips. That's a -- that's a -- it's a slow-moving federal takeover of our economy. He's attacking universities, law firms, the rule of law, the free press. And now he's sending troops into our capital. So, I do think that this is -- this is a four-alarm fire for our democracy.

FREEMAN: S.E., you know, was interesting. Two weeks ago, we saw Governor Newsom kind of take the mantle for the Democratic resistance to Trump right on the redistricting front. Yesterday, we saw J.B. Pritzker really beat his chest when it comes to this National Guard threat by President Trump. What did you think of Pritzker's press conference yesterday? Do you think he's meeting this moment politically?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think Democrats really have not figured out this game yet. I hate to bring up the sordid topic of politics, but Paul's right about all of that. And the authoritarian. This is not good. We shouldn't want to unilaterally militarize our towns and cities just because he can. That's all correct. But quickly, Donald Trump is winning this fight and he continues to win because Democrats (technical issue). And I want to oppose the president on crime. And that's just not going to work with American voters. We learned in 2024 that the electorate did not buy what the Democrats were selling.

They didn't feel like the economy was good. They didn't think immigration was under control and they didn't think crime was down. Now, you can lament the fact that politics is perception. But do Democrats win again? Because that's the game. And Donald Trump gets that and he's playing that game for better or worse.

And if the net effect of all of this tyranny is that people feel safer in their cities and towns, then Republicans and Donald Trump are going to win on this issue. And Democrats will be able to say, I stood up to the president on crime. I don't think that's a winning argument come midterms.

FREEMAN: Well, I mean, Paul, what do you think about that? Do you think that Democrats are -- are taking the bait here and are talking about this incorrectly? Because J.B. Pritzker focused on, again, fighting against this overreach, against, you know, dictator like behavior. But do you think they're missing the point?

BEGALA: Well, he's the governor of a state and he has got to assert his constitutional obligations to defend that state. But I think S.E.'s political matter makes a good point. What Democrats ought to say is, first, the only thing Donald Trump knows about crime is committing them. He's a convicted felon.

Second, he released the violent felons who attacked our hero cops in Washington, D.C. on January 6th. He released the animals who tased Michael Fanone, a hero D.C. cop, 20-year cop. By the way, I know Michael. He voted for Trump. They tased him until he had a heart attack. We have four or five officers ultimately lose their lives because of that, right? And he released them.

So, he doesn't give a rip snort about crime. If I were a mayor, I would then add, look, if you want to help us, we could use the help. Crime is down, but we need to do better.

Here's what we need. We need you, Mr. President, to enforce the gun laws on the books and maybe pass a few tougher ones, 60% of all the guns used in crime in Chicago come from out of state.

The governor of the state can't stop that, but the president of the United States can. So, enforce the gun laws, maybe pass a few more to keep these guns out of the hands of these gangsters. But also, why is Trump cutting law enforcement?

You know that what he calls a big, beautiful bill cuts $820 million out of crime prevention. This is stuff passed by Republican presidents, Democratic presidents, Republican Congress, Democratic Congress. It's why crime is down, because more cops in community policing and fewer guns in the hands of gangsters. That works. I think Democrats should say that and they should.

S.E. is absolutely right. Democrats need to explain that they are the actual folks who are tough on crime here and are making the crime rate go down.

FREEMAN: But I guess, S.E., is it easy to, or perhaps the wrong word, is it more palatable to have the conversation in good faith about how to stop crime for Democrats right up until the point that the National Guard is actually knocking on the door of your city?

CUPP: This is all happening too late. I mean, if you're just an average voter, I'm not talking about MAGA diehards, people who go to rallies, just an average voter and you don't feel like your town or your city was as safe as it was five, ten years ago. You don't care about statistics and numbers. That doesn't -- that doesn't get to your -- to your heartstrings. That doesn't get to, you know, the reasons you go to vote. You don't vote over crime numbers and statistics. You vote based on how you feel.

[09:15:12] And the perception of Democrats and Democratic policies is that they are soft on crime, that they're re-releasing criminals into the street, they're not prosecuting crimes the way they used to. They're letting, you know, migrants come in into their towns and cities unmitigated. That's the perception. Again, Paul can be right about all the things, but if Democrats are trying to win again so that they can enact some of the policies that you all are talking about, they've got to get -- they've got to get to where voters are at. And Donald Trump, for again, better or worse, and he always overreaches, he is getting to where voters are at.

So, Democrats coming in at the last hour and saying, well, before you come into my town, let me tell you, we're right on crime, you're wrong. It's a conversation that I just, I think is too late. They've got to get to the policies before Donald Trump does. And that's a thing that they're constantly playing catch up on, whether it's immigration, the economy, or crime, AKA the top three issues that matter most to voters.

FREEMAN: All right. The pocketbook and safety, certainly there. Paul, I'll give you the question, last word --

BEGALA: Well, the issue that matters most is that, Danny --

FREEMAN: Yeah, sorry, Paul.

BEGALA: The issue that matters most is pocketbooks.

FREEMAN: Right. And to that point --

BEGALA: Right. Donald Trump's a convicted criminal.

FREEMAN: Yeah, go ahead.

BEGALA: No sensible person voted for Donald Trump to cut crime. He's a criminal. But a lot of good people, a lot of good people voted for Trump because they wanted him to cut the cost of living. As we speak, hamburger is $6.12 a pound. I got four boys, OK? That's the highest in the history of hamburger. So, you think, well, maybe I'll be a vegetarian. Oh, vegetables are up 40% at the wholesale level.

So, I can't eat meat. I can't afford it. I can't afford vegetables. What, are we supposed to eat dirt? A lot of this is, S.E. knows, I think, and I agree with largely what she's saying, that it's a diversion. OK, he doesn't give a rip snort about crime or he wouldn't have released all those criminals who attacked our cops in D.C. on January 6th. What he's trying to do is divert, maybe from the Epstein files, which I have no idea why he doesn't release them, he should, but probably from the mess that he's making on inflation, where he's pushing prices up. Pay your electric bill. It's way up. Look at your home insurance rates. They're way up. Hamburger's skyrocketing. Vegetables are up. That's, I think, what he's trying to distract from, and I don't think that we ought to let him get away with it.

FREEMAN: All right, S.E. Cupp, Paul Begala, thank you so much, as always, for breaking down these important political topics, and we'll see what happens, all eyes on Chicago, coming up.

John?

BERMAN: All right, Phoenix, at risk of being swallowed by dust. What's it like to be in the middle of a cloud like that? New video from what happened in Arizona overnight.

And President Trump refused to rule out an investigation into former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, now saying he always felt Christie was guilty for his alleged role in the Bridgegate scandal. One person on the record disagreeing with that? Donald Trump.

And a rideshare driver crashes into a creek. Lucky for them, people are around to help.

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[09:22:51]

FREEMAN: Right now, Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains in ICE custody in Virginia after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting him to Uganda.

Now, the district judge who handed down the ruling says she plans to keep this hold on Abrego Garcia's deportation in place while she considers if his due process rights are being violated.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is live in Washington. Priscilla, what's the latest on this case?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Danny, this has certainly been a months-long legal saga that has yet to conclude. The latest here is what is going to come of the scheduling for this case. That was really what the judge was trying to get out during her initial court proceedings yesterday.

Meaning that in addition to ordering the Trump administration from not removing Abrego Garcia from the continental United States, for now, she also wanted the two parties to come together and decide how they want these proceedings to unfold over the coming days and potentially weeks. Which means, Danny, that for now, Abrego Garcia will not be deported. And the reason that there is an issue here is because of where the Trump administration says they want to send him.

Now, the Trump administration says that they want to send him to Uganda, a far-flung country that he has no ties to, but an approach the administration has been taking often with some detainees. His attorneys say, however, that Costa Rica has already offered protections and assurances that he wouldn't be sent to El Salvador once deported there. And that is the choice that they think makes the most sense to deport him.

Here is how the attorney described it yesterday evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SIMON SANDOVAL-MOSHENBERG, ATTORNEY FOR KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA: Well, when push comes to shove, our contention is that if they want to deport him to any country, they have to make sure that that country is not just going to be a brief waystation, you know, practically a layover on the way right back to El Salvador where he was tortured earlier this year in the infamous CECOT prison.

Whether that country is Uganda, whether that country is, you know, Spain, what have you, right? There is one country that has offered guarantees that they will give him refugee status, that they will allow him to remain at liberty, that they will not re-deport him, and that country is Costa Rica, which was on the table as recently as last week, but now the government has decided that they want to send him to Uganda instead, which is clearly just punitive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, what we are going to learn over the course of today is the schedule for the rest of the week when the hearings may take place. Yesterday, the federal judge said that there could be a hearing as soon as Friday in this case as they try to determine where Abrego Garcia is to be deported.

But again, to remind viewers, this is a man from El Salvador who was mistakenly deported, according to the administration in March to El Salvador in that notorious mega prison, returned earlier this summer to face criminal charges, has a trial in January, but in the intervening time, the administration wants to deport him.

So this, again, has had multiple twists and turns, and we'll see what happens over the course of today and the rest of the week in terms of where exactly the administration will send him.

FREEMAN: Yeah, multiple twists and turns, and still clearly not over just yet. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much for that update. Appreciate it.

All right, to this now. A haboob engulfs Phoenix, that's what it's called. Incredible video showing the dust storm slamming into the airport, effects still being felt this morning, that much more after a quick break.

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