Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sharply criticized President Donald Trump during an interview on CNN’s Early Start Tuesday, accusing him of manufacturing crises for political purposes and warning against potential deployment of the National Guard in U.S. cities.
“The only crisis here is Donald Trump, and that’s because he wants a crisis,” Krasner said.
“He wants a crisis so he can roll tanks in big cities, make it look normal. And he wants that because he intends to try to carry out a coup.”
Krasner argued that any National Guard members accused of committing crimes while deployed in local jurisdictions could face prosecution under state law.
“If Guard troops start committing local crimes, they can be prosecuted locally. They should be prosecuted locally. And here’s the big part: Donald Trump cannot pardon a National Guard person who, unjustifiably killed someone, harmed someone, detained someone in violation of state law. He can’t do it,” he stated.
During the segment, Krasner also challenged Trump’s frequent criticism of crime rates in major U.S. cities, including Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
“We’re talking about someone who lies all the time, and one of those lies is that these big cities are not doing well with public safety. In fact, as of this morning, Philly is at a 50-plus-year low in homicides. We’re down in 14 out of 18 categories and subcategories of crime,” Krasner said.
He continued, “This is just a lie. It’s a lie in D.C. It’s a lie in L.A. It’s a lie in Chicago. It’s a lie in Philly. And it’s a lie by a criminal who pardons criminals, insurrectionists, people who are basically engaging in treason against the United States.”
Krasner repeated his view that Trump’s strategy is to normalize the use of military forces in civilian settings.
“Simply put, the only crisis here is Donald Trump, and that’s because he wants a crisis. He wants a crisis so he can roll tanks in big cities, make it look normal. And he wants that because he intends to try to carry out a coup,” he said.
It is worth noting that Larry Krasner is another Soros-funded District Attorney:
CNN host MJ Lee pressed Krasner on the concern of residents in cities like Chicago or New York, who may feel that crime is a significant issue and could welcome additional enforcement.
Krasner responded by distinguishing between local law enforcement and the use of National Guard troops.
“It’s a typical Trumpian lie. It’s basically all that he does. National Guard is not law enforcement. This is not increasing law enforcement,” Krasner said.
He added that if more officers are needed, additional resources should go toward police departments and prevention programs.
“If you want to have more police in Philadelphia, Chicago, etc., then fund them, just like we should fund the safety net that prevents so much crime, which, of course, he doesn’t want to do,” Krasner said.
“But let’s not pretend that National Guard troops or U.S. military who are trained to kill the enemy are trained to be peacekeepers among the citizenry. That’s not real. We’ve seen the tragedies that can occur here, including at Kent State in the 1970s, when National Guard troops killed a bunch of students and shot a bunch of other students.”
Krasner described Trump’s approach as an effort to expand executive power.
“This is just a wannabe dictator trying to lay the groundwork so people think it’s normal to do stuff that is unconstitutional,” he said.
He further argued that constitutional protections limit what Trump could do in U.S. cities.
“D.C. is a place where Trump can get away with more because the law permits it. He cannot get away with this in big cities. It violates the 10th Amendment. It violates a variety of laws,” Krasner said.
“If those supposed anti-crime forces, which they’re not at all, if they show up and they start committing local crimes, they can be prosecuted locally. They should be prosecuted locally,” Krasner added.
“And here’s the big part: Donald Trump cannot pardon a National Guard person who, unjustifiably killed someone, harmed someone, detained someone in violation of state law. He can’t do it.”
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