On September 3, 2025, President Donald J. Trump ignited a heated national debate by announcing in the Oval Office that he was considering sending National Guard troops to New Orleans to address what he described as a persistent crime problem. The president’s remarks, delivered with characteristic bravado—“We’ll straighten that out in about two weeks. It’ll take us two weeks. Easier than D.C.”—sent shockwaves through Louisiana’s political landscape and drew swift responses from both supporters and critics, as reported by NBC News, WVUE, and other outlets.
Trump’s comments came on the heels of his recent deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., a move he claims brought violent crime in the capital down to historically low levels. “We’re making a determination now—do we go to Chicago or do we go to a place like New Orleans where we have a great Governor Jeff Landry who wants us to come in and straighten out a very nice section of this country that’s become, you know, quite tough, quite bad, and so we’re going to maybe Louisiana and you have New Orleans, which has a crime problem,” Trump told reporters, according to WVUE. He went on to say, “We’ll straighten that out in about two weeks, it’ll take us two weeks, easier than D.C.”
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican and a Trump ally, responded positively to the president’s suggestion. “We’ll take President Trump’s help from New Orleans to Shreveport,” Landry said, signaling openness to federal assistance in addressing crime across multiple Louisiana cities.
Yet, Trump’s proposal was met with skepticism and outright opposition from many New Orleans leaders and criminal justice experts, who pointed out that the city has actually experienced a significant drop in violent crime over the past year. According to data from the Metropolitan Crime Commission, shootings, homicides, carjackings, and armed robberies are all down in 2025 compared to the previous year. Dr. Ashraf Esmail, a criminologist at Dillard University, emphasized this trend, stating, “Certainly, when you look at the crime rate in New Orleans, he’s mentioned that we have a big crime problem and we see what’s been going on in the last couple of years, you can see our numbers have dropped significantly, particularly our homicide rates. We have seen the lowest numbers since the sixties.”
The city and the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) also issued a joint statement highlighting their ongoing efforts to reduce crime. “We have consistently worked with our federal partners, including collaborations with the Louisiana State Police. This collaborative approach has been instrumental in our ongoing success in reducing crime. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the women and men of the NOPD, the strategic use of advanced technology, and a steadfast commitment to constitutional policing, strong public safety partnerships have also played a critical role in driving and sustaining this downward trend in crime,” the statement read.
New Orleans, a Democratic stronghold, has not requested National Guard assistance, and many local officials see Trump’s remarks as more political theater than practical policy. Representative Troy Carter, a Democrat representing New Orleans, was particularly outspoken in his criticism. “It appears that it’s political theater. Listen, we would encourage and accept support for resources to build a stronger police department, to build resources, to have retention so we can keep good police officers, to train them better, to provide resources that we can build a stronger force,” Carter told WVUE. “If the president really wants to help, there are ways that he can help, but to militarize the city of New Orleans is not the answer.” Carter further warned, “To militarize the city of New Orleans is not the answer. This appears to be more of a political statement—coming to a democratically led city versus many cities across the country who are in fact in need of attention because of the crime in their community.”
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, offered a more nuanced position. In a written statement, Cassidy said, “The National Guard in Washington, D.C., demonstrated that more uniforms on the street—whatever the color of the uniform is—makes our community safer. It is not a long-term solution, but this gives us a chance to demonstrate that it is just as true in Louisiana as it is in Washington, D.C.” Yet Cassidy also acknowledged the legal and practical limitations of such an approach. “Now in D.C., the president has a special privilege to deploy the National Guard and has a federal prosecutor who has jurisdiction over the entire city. We can’t replicate that. I want a solution that works in Monroe, in Shreveport, in Baton Rouge, in New Orleans and Lafayette. I have to admit it’s a little difficult because many of these are blue cities with liberal prosecutors, and frankly, there is a perception that they have ruined the cities,” Cassidy remarked during a press call with Louisiana journalists. He also referenced recent federal court rulings that restrict how the president can deploy the National Guard, noting, “Aside from federal courts are now saying that there are restrictions upon how the president can deploy the National Guard.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Republican from the New Orleans area, took to social media to voice his support for increased safety measures, referencing the positive impact of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. “The citizens of New Orleans, and the millions of tourists who come here, deserve that same level of security. We should all be in favor of increased safety for our…” Scalise tweeted on September 3, 2025.
Despite the president’s insistence that he could “straighten out” New Orleans’ crime problem in two weeks, many local officials and experts argue that long-term solutions require investment in law enforcement capacity, community engagement, and social services—not military intervention. “Clearly, more boots on the ground—whether they’re military or they’re police officers—decreases crime, clearly, and that’s what the president’s intervention in Washington, D.C., has shown. That is not a long-term solution,” Cassidy reiterated.
For its part, the New Orleans Police Department credits its recent success in reducing crime to “the dedicated efforts of the women and men of the NOPD, the strategic use of advanced technology, and a steadfast commitment to constitutional policing.” These efforts, city officials say, have fostered strong public safety partnerships and helped drive a sustained downward trend in violent crime.
As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: the question of how best to ensure public safety in America’s cities remains as contentious as ever. Whether Trump’s proposal is a bold solution or mere political posturing, the people of New Orleans—and the millions who visit each year—are watching closely to see what comes next.
