President Trump is in Chicago Monday, speaking to a friendly crowd at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference and holding a fundraiser at his Chicago hotel. During his speech, the president criticized the prevalence of crime, blasting the city’s leadership and particularly its police chief, Eddie Johnson.
“You could fix this up so fast,” the president told the crowd. “Good leadership would be pretty easy to find. … But remember, 565 people were murdered last year. And it’s a shame. And I want Eddie Johnson to change his values and change ’em fast.”
The trip comes a day after Mr. Trump announced the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Mr. Trump described the U.S. operation in Syria, during which the ruthless terrorist “died like a dog,” as the president told reporters in what turned into a small press conference in the White House Diplomatic Room. Mr. Trump brought up the historic moment again during Monday’s speech.
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He was a sick and depraved man and now he’s dead,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s dead, he’s dead as a door nail. And he didn’t die bravely either, I will tell you that. He should have been killed years ago. Another president should have gotten him.”
Before boarding Air Force One just outside D.C., the president said the U.S. may release video of the Syria raid that resulted in the ISIS leader’s death.
“Great weekend, we captured a man who should have been captured long ago,” Mr. Trump said.
After he speaks to the chiefs of police, the president will be attending a roundtable fundraiser and will speak at Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago. The events at the president’s hotel are closed to the media.
