National Guard troops in DC are now armed, defense official says

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released a statement Friday responding to Trump's claims that he was looking to take federal action to curb the city's crime and said that he received no formal communication from the administration.

"Certainly, we have grave concerns about the impact of any unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the City of Chicago. The problem with the President's approach is that it is uncoordinated, uncalled for, and unsound," he said.

The mayor said deploying the National Guard could "inflame tensions between residents and law enforcement," and "would threaten to undermine the historic progress we have."

"The National Guard is no substitute for dedicated local law enforcement and community violence interrupters who know and serve our communities every day. There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them," Johnson said.

Trump on Friday responded to reporters' questions whether he was open to releasing the Epstein files, now that they have been given to the House Oversight Committee.

"Some people shouldn't be here, but I'm in support of keeping it totally open. I couldn't care less. You got a lot of people that it could be mentioned in those files that don't deserve to be, people, because he knew everybody," Trump, who associated with Epstein, said.

The president claimed that the probe and call for transparency were a "Democratic hoax."

He then changed the subject to tout his administration's six months in office.

President Donald Trump made several off-the-cuff comments about his military deployment in Washington, D.C., to reduce crime during an Oval Office news conference on about World Cup events.

The president claimed that he was looking to bring the military to Chicago.

"Chicago's a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. And, we'll straighten that one out probably next. That'll be our next one after this," he said.

Trump claimed that people in Chicago were "screaming" for help.

"African American ladies, beautiful ladies are saying, please, President Trump, come to Chicago, please," Trump claimed, adding that he "did great with the Black vote."

During a radio show interview on Thursday, Trump said he was looking into bringing the military to Memphis.

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the 2026 World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center.

Trump called it a "tremendous honor" to host the event and said they are spending "a lot of money" on making the Kennedy Center "beautiful."

With him in the Oval Office for the announcement was FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who Trump said came from Italy for the news.

"The World Cup draw will set up the group stage of competition: 48 teams will play in 104 games across 16 North American cities from Seattle to Vancouver to Atlanta to Miami," Trump said.