Ahead of his appearance at the City Club of Chicago Monday, would-be presidential candidate Donald Trump has declared the crime in the city is out of control.
Speaking with the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board, Trump said he was the “tough cookie” to fix the problem, the Tribune reported:
Crime in Chicago is out of control and I will tell you, outside of Chicago, it’s a huge negative and a huge talking point, a huge negative for Chicago, Trump told the Tribune Editorial Board prior to a luncheon address at the City Club of Chicago. You’ve got to stop it. You’re not going to stop it by being nice. You’re going to stop it by being one tough son of a bitch, Trump said. Trump said he believed police today were not as tough as when he was growing up in the mid-1960s. You need tough cookies. These are tough kids. These are not babies. These are tough, tough kids. If they saw you walking down the street, they wouldn’t give a damn about you, Trump said. You can’t be so gentle with these people.
Trump was speaking as pressure mounted on NBC to fire him for his comments on Mexican immigrants.