Democracy in America is on the verge of collapse.
It’s authoritarian for the president of the United States to deploy the National Guard into U.S. cities. It’s dangerous for a president to rush into blaming political opponents for a killing, before a suspect or a motive has even been established. It’s a direct attack on freedom of speech to get a national TV show suspended for comments the president does not like.
But that is what’s happening. And it’s drastically accelerating the destruction of democracy in America.
President Donald Trump appears to have been deterred–at least temporarily—from deploying the National Guard to Chicago in a supposed move to address crime. Meanwhile, in the wake of the assasination of Charlie Kirk, he and his administration have engaged in aggressive rhetoric toward the “radical left.”
Long-time ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel just had his show “suspended indefinitely” for comments he made about the actions of Trump and Republicans since Kirk’s death. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has urged people to stand up to and protest the decision, saying that Trump is following an authoritarian “playbook” by suppressing political opponents.
National guard threats, inappropriate partisan finger pointing and repression of speech are much more than political theater. They are erasing this country’s supposed democratic ideals.
After failing to send federal agents to the Windy City, Trump has now pivoted to Memphis. Chicago, already receiving an increased ICE presence, isn’t completely off the docket. However, Kirk’s murder has seemingly drawn attention away from Trump’s military intervention plans in the meantime.
Despite Trump claiming Chicago is the “murder capital” of the world on his Truth Social account, 21 other American cities have a higher murder rate. Since 2020, Chicago’s violent crime has steadily trended down. August’s deployment of the National Guard in Washington D.C. was a test run for the Trump administration, with Vice President JD Vance saying it can be an example for other cities.
Trump suggested Los Angeles, New York City and Baltimore would be potential targets in the future. All of those cities have been often criticized by Republicans as big, blue cities where crime runs rampant. Chicago is a “hellhole,” according to Trump. But none of them have the highest crime or murder rate in the country.
The president’s approach to crime is extremely shortsighted. It is a faux band-aid solution that results either in troops being withdrawn after crime decreases or permanent federal military occupation of American cities.
Trump’s authoritarian posture and constant belittling of Democratic officials makes the latter seem plausible. Instead of utilizing proven crime reduction practices as seen in Baltimore, the Trump administration is opting for on-the-ground militarization.
Actually getting to the root causes of crime takes a needs-based approach. Upon taking office, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott implemented the Baltimore Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan in 2021. The plan uses data to focus on people most likely to be victims or perpetrators of crime, directly providing them with services and support.
In the words of Scott, “They get a letter directly from me. We knock on their door and say ‘We know who you are. We know what you do. Change your life. We’ll help you do it. But if you don’t, we’re going to remove you via law enforcement’. Those who have taken us up on change in their life–over 90% of them have not re-injured, revictimized or recidivated in crime.”
In 2025, the city has seen its lowest year-to-date homicide rate in 50 years. Since Scott took office, Baltimore’s homicide rate has taken a 40 percent nosedive.
Although Memphis and St. Louis, both in red states, rank in the top three for both total crime and murder, Chicago was priority No. 1 for Trump after he deployed troops in the nation’s capital.
After pushback from Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Trump switched his focus to Memphis–a move that makes it all the more clear that threatening Chicago with federal occupation is an attempt to score cheap political points, not make America safer.
Kirk’s assasination has oddly provided Trump with a distraction from the topic of National Guard deployment and, notably, the Senate’s voting to block the release of the Epstein files, among other things.
The Kirk aftermath has many in the country agitated, and the Trump administration has seemingly made use of that, making dangerously bold and baseless claims that the assailant was from the “radical left” and threatening to punish those who “celebrated” Kirk’s murder.
On Sept. 15, Stephen Miller, the top aide to White House Chief of Staff, appeared on a Vance-hosted episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, vowing to “uproot and dismantle terrorist networks” and what he described as a “vast domestic terror movement.” Earlier this month on Fox News, Miller said “the Democrat Party is not a political party. It is a domestic extremist organization.”
Militarizing American cities is another step toward the autocracy the Trump administration appears to be aiming for. It is plainly unconstitutional and a 180-degree turn from Republicans’ emphasis on upholding states’ rights when it comes to issues like abortion.
None of what the Trump administration is doing is about preventing crime. In April, Trump cut $820 million in grants for more than 550 crime reduction and public safety organizations, including one specific program focused on lowering violent crime that he called a success in his first term.
While taking money away from crime prevention and ignoring the success stories in Baltimore that could be replicated across America, Trump makes the true motive behind his federal occupation efforts self-evident. He also seems to be taking notes from El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, who has become a partner of Trump in recent years.
Bukele took office in 2019 and declared a state of emergency in 2022 following large-scale gang killings. Three years later, El Salvador is still under a state of exception in which particular constitutional rights are suspended and the government’s security forces are granted unchecked power. The state of exception originally was to be in place for only 30 days.
Serious, credible allegations of human rights violations have been leveled against Bukele, and he has been characterized as an authoritarian and autocrat.
On Aug. 11, Trump invoked an act that gives the president authority to seize control of Washington D.C.’s police department for 30 days.
As of right now, the deployment of troops in the nation’s capital has been extended through Nov. 30, with the option to further extend the deadline or cut it prematurely.
The National Guard will be deployed in Memphis in September, and Trump said Chicago is “probably” next.
This is dangerous. American democracy is on the line.
Velocity 
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