Shock poll shows how many Americans really back Trump’s military takeover of top crime-ridden cities

New polling shows Americans are huge fans of President Donald Trump’s new crime crackdown.

Last week, the president ordered National Guard troops into D.C. to help quell the city’s rampant crime problem. And he’s promised to send the military into Chicago, Illinois, New York City and other crime-ridden areas in the coming weeks.

Americans are largely fans of Trump’s crime crackdown, with 53 percent saying they back the president’s actions to tackle violent crime.

The new AP-NORC survey finds that more than half of Americans – 55 percent – say it is acceptable for the U.S. military and National Guard to assist local police in major cities.

At the same time, only about one-third support allowing the federal government to take control of city police departments. The poll also shows strong concern over urban crime, with 80 percent of respondents calling it a serious problem in large cities.

The poll additionally shows Trump with his highest-ever approval rating, jumping five points in the last month.

Data released by the Associated Press on Wednesday revealed that 45 percent of Americans view the job that Trump is doing favorably.

That is Trump’s highest approval rating in the AP-NORC poll across both terms.

Polling by JL Partners found Trump’s approval to be at 49 percent in July.

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks as US President Donald J Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, August 26, 2025

The Washington Monument is visible as armed members of the National Guard patrol the National Mall on August 27, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital

Attorney General Pam Bondi shared on X Monday that 1,178 arrests had been conducted and 123 illegal guns had been seized amid Trump’s push to make D.C. safe again.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser noted in a Wednesday press conference that amid Trump’s actions in her city, carjackings were down by 87 percent.

‘We greatly appreciate the surge of officers that enhance what MPD has been able to do in this city,’ Bowser stated.

‘We know that when carjackings go down, when use of gun goes down, when homicide or robbery go down, neighborhoods feel safer and are safer, so this surge has been important to us,’ the mayor noted.

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser listens during a news conference on August 27, 2025 in Washington, DC. Mayor Bowser held a news conference to give an update more than two weeks after Trump administration has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital

Other elected leaders in the city were not as quick to sing the president’s praises.

Councilmember Robert White Jr., a Democrat, said in a video posted on X that ‘We should not, as the District of Columbia, be giving people the impression that this is a good thing, that we are OK with it, that it is helping the city. It is not doing any of those thing.’

‘I am not OK with this. The average resident is not OK with this. D.C. residents, D.C. voters, are not OK with this,’ White added.

Ward 1 DC Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau wrote in her own X post that D.C. was ‘under siege.’

‘Our residents are afraid, hesitant to go out & to work, angry that our limited autonomy is being eroded. There is nothing welcome about this,’ Nadeu added.

The president on Friday said he’s considering sending National Guard troops to other cities such as Chicago after the success of his D.C. crackdown.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker fired back at the president, noting that ‘If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me — not time or political circumstance — from making sure you face justice under our constitutional rule of law.’

Last week, Trump said he was considering Chicago and New York for troop deployments, adding that Chicago was ‘a mess.’

‘You have an incompetent mayor – grossly incompetent. And we’ll straighten that one out probably next. That will be our next one after this, and it won’t even be tough,’ the president noted at the time.