As Trump Threatens Chicago—We Must Unite

Corporate media is continuing to carry water for Trump in detriment to our community and our Republic -- here's two ways to fight back

I’ve grown up in Chicagoland since the 1980s. I completed my undergraduate degree at UIC, right in the heart of the Loop. I know this city. I know its struggles, but I also know its resilience. It’s why you’ve found me peacefully marching in the streets to protest his fascism, and why I will continue to do so as now, as Trump plans to ransack our home with an illegal military occupation. In this article, I lay out three facts that he—and much of corporate media—will not bother to address. And the reason is simple: telling the truth would dismantle Trump’s entire fascist narrative designed to enable autocratic rule. We need to fight back united, and with urgency. Here’s how. Let’s Address This.

Our fight back against Trump’s fascism requires both staying informed on the facts, and ensuring we recognize bias and disinformation when we see it. Here are the facts we need to know to stay informed on Trump’s propaganda claims.

1. Chicago is not the violence capital Trump claims

In 2025, Chicago isn’t even in the top 25 most violent cities in America. In fact, crime is down across the board in Chicago this year:

• Overall crime ⬇️ 13%

• Carjackings ⬇️ 26%

• Murders ⬇️ 31%

• Robberies ⬇️ 33%

Credit to Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker for enacting meaningful policies that are driving down crime. And by the way, that includes gun violence data. So where does Chicago get the bad wrap on gun violence? Well, the majority of illegal guns used in Chicago crimes—up to 60%—come from neighboring Indiana and Wisconsin. These are two red states with weak gun laws, and since guns don’t know state borders, Chicago suffers the consequences of these failed Red state policies. If Trump were serious about stopping violence, he’d call out those states. But he won’t. And speaking of Red States, here’s the second data point you need to know.

2. Red states are more violent than blue states

Here’s a fact you’ll never hear Trump acknowledge: red states have a 40% higher murder rate than blue states. Forty percent! As the research think tank Third Way reports after an exhaustive study of violence and murder rates across all 50 states:

We found that murder rates are, on average, 40% higher in the 25 states Donald Trump won in the last presidential election compared to those that voted for Joe Biden. In addition, murder rates in many of these red states dwarf those in blue states like New York, California, and Massachusetts. And finally, many of the states with the worst murder rates—like Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina, and Arkansas—are ones that few would describe as urban. Only 2 of America’s top 100 cities in population are located in these high murder rate states. And not a single one of the top 10 murder states registers in the top 15 for population density. Whether one does or does not blame Republican leaders for high murder rates, it seems that Republican officeholders do a better job of blaming Democrats for lethal crime than actually reducing lethal crime.

So if Trump really wanted to “protect Americans,” he’d be sending the National Guard to red states—not trolling blue cities like Chicago. Which brings me to the third point—no it’s not a “blue city” problem as Republicans like to claim.

3. Red state policies fuel violence

I’m not here to defend every Democratic politician—I’m just here to debunk disinformation used to justify bad policies. For example, Republicans often try to argue, “Red states are only more violent because of blue cities.” This is demonstrably wrong. Because if it were true that Red policies create safety and Blue policies create violence, then Blue cities in Blue states would be far more violent than Blue cities in Red states. But they aren’t. Why? Because state-level policies matter. Gun safety laws, healthcare access, and investment in communities matter. These are all policies largely set by the politics of State government, and only supplemented by city government. This is why it is no surprise that rural parts of the country—which are almost exclusively red—are the most violent parts of the country. This is also why it is no surprise that 8 of the 10 most violent cities in the U.S.A. are in Red states. But again, you’ll never hear Trump admit that fact, because it disrupts his entire narrative.

The Law Is Clear

A federal court has already ruled that Trump illegally deployed the military to Los Angeles. He does not have constitutional authority to do the same in Chicago. This is not law enforcement—it’s a political stunt. It’s the move of an autocrat desperate to flex power, even if it means shredding our Constitution. Unfortunately we are dealing both with an aspiring autocrat, and a complicit corporate media. Education can help us stay informed on fighting back against the aspiring autocrat, but we also need tools to ensure the media we are consuming is fact based, not state appeasement. Consider this example with ABC News and the propaganda they shamelessly pushed out this week.

How We Fight Back

1. Support Independent Media

I launched Let’s Address This to loudly and clearly confront injustice while demanding accountability. More than 555 articles and 33 million readers later, we’ve built a movement. A movement is never one person—it’s a community.

So, if you’re a subscriber, thank you. If you’re not yet, please join us. No paywalls. No billionaire backers. Just people-powered media. Every subscription, every share, every read chips away at the disinformation machine.

2. Use Ground News to Cut Through the Noise

This is the grotesque headline that ABC News led with this week:

Never mind all the above data I cited to demonstrate that Chicago is not even in the top 25 most violent cities, and that the majority of illegal guns here are due to weak gun laws in Red states, not due to Chicago’s gun laws. Instead, ABC News — which has already capitulated to Trump with a $15 million settlement to appease him after criticizing his policies — decides to continue to appease an aspiring autocrat. This is incredibly dangerous, destructive, and warrants tools to ensure we are staying informed on the facts.

Accordingly, I invite you to look at Ground News. This is not just news website or app—it’s a critical tool in a disinformation age. If you care about combatting misinformation and disinformation—and I know you do—you need Ground News. Here’s how it works.

Ground News gathers related articles globally in one place, then it reveals their source bias and factuality. This helps users cut through partisanship and sensationalism to focus on the facts.

So even if you didn’t realize that some outlets have a track record of publishing low-factuality stories, you would be able to discover that instantly. How? Because Ground News shows you the factuality of each outlet’s reporting. It helps you avoid clickbait, conspiracy, and propaganda, allowing you to just focus on information that stands up to scrutiny.

And in a world where the loudest voices often drown out the most accurate ones, Ground News makes it easier to make sure you’re getting factual reporting. By subscribing, you directly support my human rights newsletter and contributing to keeping the media landscape accountable and transparent. Subscribe to Ground News at my personal link below and knock 40% off their Vantage Plan, the same one I use. That’s $5/month to sharpen your defenses against Trump’s fascism and disinformation campaigns.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Trump is going to continue to push the envelope, as autocrats are won’t to do. This is where we must unite—not as Democrats or Republicans—but as people committed to humanity, due process, and the rule of law. The truth is this: crime is down in Chicago, red states are more violent, and Trump’s military occupation is unconstitutional.

We must act on this truth.

That means standing united to reject his fascist military occupation. Reject his federal takeover. Reject corporate media propaganda designed to appease Trump. And instead, protect our Constitutional rights—together.

This is a test of courage. Let us rise to it.

If you believe in that mission—if you believe in integrity in media that doesn’t flinch when power roars—then now is the time to act.

👉 Subscribe to this human rights newsletter.

👉 Join Ground News, and reclaim a media narrative grounded in verifiable facts.

👉 Share this with someone who might find it worth their time and investment.

The question really is simple: Do we allow fascism to rewrite reality for the next generation? Or do we fight back to defend truth, justice, and shared humanity? I believe we are ready to unite and fight back with education, accountability, and justice. Let’s get to work.