Retired Major Gen. William Enyart, former adjunct general for the Illinois National Guard, said that sending federal agents into places like Chicago and Portland is more about covering for President Donald Trump's own failures as a president.
Speaking to MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace on Monday after Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) held a press conference about the latest group sent into a Democratic city, Enyart pointed to John Deere being among the large U.S. companies struggling in Trump's economy.
"I think this is clearly a vast overreach of federal authorities," he began. "There are no civil disturbances in Chicago. There is no necessity for armed federal military intervention, which is what we're talking about here."
What he heard from Pritzker in the press conference, the general noted, is that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is the one who requested 100 military personnel from the Department of Defense.
"So, whether those might be National Guard, whether they might be active duty, we don't know yet," he explained. "We don't know whether he'll attempt to mobilize Illinois National Guard troops against the governor's will, which can only be done under very rigid circumstances, and certainly that is not the case here. Or sending in active duty federal military forces subjects them to what's called the Posse Comitatus Act, which says you cannot do civil law enforcement."
Enyart said that 100 soldiers is such a small amount that Trump could afford to send in 100 FBI agents or 100 border agents.
"What are 100 soldiers going to do other than be a demonstration of raw, naked federal power? That's what Donald Trump is after. He needs to distract from the economy," the general said, calling the president's bluff.
"He needs to distract from Jeffrey Epstein. He needs a distraction from the tariffs gone wrong. John Deere, an Illinois corporation, lost $500 million in the first quarter of this year due to Trump's tariffs. Or, excuse me, in the last quarter of the reporting year, $500 million. So, that's what he needs a distraction from. And what better distraction than to have armed soldiers, armed soldier-looking folks with masks covering their faces, marching down Michigan Avenue?" the general closed.
